The Monster
by vinjhup
Summary: The death of her parents and the subsequent reawakening of her powers caused a chain of events in Elsa's life that culminated in the murder of a fellow classmate. Now she and her best friend Anna must say goodbye to their old lives and help Elsa control her powers for good. Modern AU, Helsa pairing in the beginning but it's Elsanna for the most part. Rated M for language mostly.
1. Chapter 1

Elsa couldn't see anything. She tried to look around the room but everywhere she looked she was greeted by a pitch black darkness. The only thing she could hear was her heart pounding in her chest and her shallow, labored breaths. Elsa was on her knees, she was scared, frightened, but above all confused. She didn't know where she was or what she had done, all she remembered was opening the door and seeing something that awakened the monster inside of her.

Her vision and hearing was slowly coming back. Everything was a blur but she could make out a few things in the room. Elsa saw someone on the right side of the room gingerly getting out of a bed. She couldn't make out the face but it seemed she was just as confused with the situation as Elsa was. The room itself was a mess. There were dark spikes protruding from the floor that had penetrated the walls around her. She had noticed the windows around her were shattered and that a computer desk on the left side of the room was almost broken in two. Most of her vision had finally returned to her and she saw a pool of crimson growing under a set of black spikes in the center of the room. Elsa looked up at the spikes and gasped. Another body, a man, had been penetrated by the spikes and was being held up against the wall. They were all centered around the man's chest and stomach, blood had stained the spikes and dripped down onto the floor. His eyes were open, but he wasn't moving or breathing. His arms were limp, his legs dangled over the floor.

_Elsa!_

A voice. It sounded distant and Elsa couldn't tell where it was coming from.

_Elsa! You have to get up!_

The voice sounded closer now. Elsa also heard footsteps getting closer towards her. The figure knelt down to look at Elsa and she immediately recognized who it was.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Elsa it's me. Now you have to get up! We need to get out of here!"

Elsa's breathing finally settled down, her hearing was almost completely back and she could see Anna much clearly now. Her strawberry blonde hair was a mess, there was a cut on her cheek that was bleeding and her face showed the same frightened and expression that was probably on Elsa's.

"Anna, what-"

"That doesn't matter right now! We need to go!"

Anna helped Elsa up off the floor, putting a hand on her waist and leading her out the door of the room. Memories of what transpired slowly started coming back to Elsa. She remembered opening the door, seeing Anna pinned up against a wall. She remembered the monster taking over.

The monster.

"It happened again, didn't it?"

Anna hesitated before answering, "Yes Elsa, it happened again. But it's not your fault. Now come on, get in the car."

Elsa opened the passenger side door of Anna's car and stepped inside as Anna started the car and backed out of the driveway. Elsa was scared of what would happen to both of them, but mostly she was scared at what would happen to Anna. Dark ice had covered the handle of the passenger side door and it was slowly taking over the interior of Anna's car.

"Anna, you shouldn't be doing this. If you help me then you're an accomplice to murder."

"No, Elsa! I told you I'd help you figure this out and I will. I said that I would never leave your side no matter what."

"But this is different! If you help me then there's no going back! You'll never be able to live a normal life, you'll be a fugitive. I can't do that to you, Anna."

You need me, Elsa. Through thick and thin, no matter what, I will always be there for you."

The ice had now covered the entire car door. If Elsa didn't do something it would freeze the entire car soon. She needed to convince Anna to get out of the car before it was too late.

"But-"

"Elsa, stop. I know you. You are the smartest, strongest bravest girl I've ever met. I know you can learn to control it and I wanna be there when you do. You're my best friend Elsa, we're practically sisters. So you're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

Elsa suddenly felt warm, her head was finally clear and the ice was gone. Anna had said what she needed to hear and the monster had subsided for now. They drove in silence for the next few hours, which gave time for Elsa to think. She wished so badly to be normal. She didn't want this monster living inside of her. She wanted it out.

The last thing Elsa thought about before drifting off to sleep was the day all of this started. Six months ago.


	2. Chapter 2

**Six Months Ago**

Elsa sat on the floor of her dark room with her back against the door her knees brought up to her chest. She was crying silently, tears dampening her black dress. She didn't cry at all during the funeral, she had to be strong. When relatives came up to her to give their condolences she thanked them with a straight face. When she gave the eulogy her voice didn't stall or hitch at all. She concealed it well. She didn't let her emotions show. But now behind closed doors where she couldn't be bothered by anyone, where she didn't have to conceal anything or keep a straight face, where she didn't have to be strong, Elsa cried. And cried. And cried.

_My parents are dead._

This was all that Elsa was thinking. She kept saying it over and over again in her head as if she was still in denial and by repeating this one thought she would finally have to accept it as truth. She had every right to be in disbelief. They told her they would only be gone two weeks, they said they were going to visit a family friend, they said they would be fine.

_Liars._

Two days after they left Elsa got a call. Her parents had been in an accident, one of the tires blew out while they were driving over a bridge and the car spun out of control, sending them into the water below. Their bodies were found a couple hours later.

_My parents are gone. I'll never see them again. _

Elsa continued to cry into her dress. She had been crying for what seemed like hours. Her room was dark and cold. Ice cold. In fact it seemed like it was getting colder.

_My parents are gone. They're dead. I never got to say goodbye._

Unbeknownst to Elsa, black ice had begun to slowly surround the door frame and under her feet.

_I'll never see my mother again. I'll never see my father again. They'll never see what I become. They'll never see me graduate. Or get married. They'll never see their grandchildren. No. They're just...gone._

_My parents are gone._

The ice had now covered the entire door frame and had painted her floor black. The black ice was now crawling its way towards the legs of her bed and desk. Elsa was still oblivious to all of this. Her head still in her lap and her thoughts preoccupied.

_My parents are gone._

_**And it's all your fault.**_

Elsa brought her head out of her lap. Looking all around the room to find the voice who said that. It wasn't her. It didn't sound like her. It was a woman's voice but it sounded a lot more...demonic.

_**Yes, it's all your fault that they're dead Elsa. You could have saved them. Deep down you knew this was going to happen. You could have talked them out of it. But you didn't. Your parents are dead. Because of you. **_

Elsa shot up off the floor, frantically searching around her room to see who had just said that. It was then that she finally noticed the black ice that had carpeted her floor and covered her door. The ice working to cover up the spot that Elsa had been sitting in. "Who's there?", Elsa cried out. But there was no answer. She looked around her room but couldn't see anyone. She was alone. She decided to leave her room and clear her head. She opened the door and walked to her bathroom, turned on the sink and splashed the water on her face. "It was probably just my imagination." she said to herself as she turned off the sink. She pulled her head up to look in the mirror and gasped. She was not alone. Behind her stood a picture perfect copy of herself. She stepped away from the mirror and turned around but she was still there. Staring at Elsa with a devilish smirk on her face.

"Who are you?!" Elsa asked.

The figure laughed menacingly, _**"Oh Elsa. Can't you see? I'm you. More specifically I am the shape in which those deep, dark feelings that you're feeling have taken form."**_

"I...I don't understand."

"_**Of course you don't, you're a fool. Just know that inside of you now is a better version of you. One that will come and go as it pleases. And one that will also give you great power."**_

And with that. The figure conjured a dark flurry of ice in her palms. Elsa couldn't believe what she was seeing. The figure walked towards her, ice forming on the floor with every step she took as she got close and closer towards Elsa. Elsa couldn't move, still in shock at the events transpiring in front of her.

"_**That seems like a fair tradeoff, no? You let me live inside of you and I give you power beyond your wildest dreams. Of course, there's no guarantee you'll be able to control it as well as I can."**_

Elsa didn't say anything. Still frozen in fear. Her clone was now right in front of her. Face just inches away from hers, the smirk still strewn across her face. They both stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Elsa not speaking, and her clone waiting for an answer. Frustrated, the figure's face lost its smirk raised her hand and slapped Elsa, causing her to fall to the bathroom floor.

"_**Well I tried to play nice. But I guess that just won't work with you. Let me make this very clear, Elsa, because obviously you're too stupid to realize what is going on. I decide when I want to make myself known, okay? I don't care what you're doing at that very moment, when I say it's time for me to play then you have to oblige. You don't get a say in this. Basically, what I'm trying to say is..."**_

The clone knelt down next to Elsa and forcefully grabbed her jaw with one hand to make Elsa look at her. Elsa's breathing was erratic. She was terrified, afraid of what her clone would do. The smirk returned to the figure's face as she looked at Elsa.

"_**...you're my bitch, now."**_

The clone got back up, stepped over Elsa and opened the bathroom door. _**"You know? I like this dress. I'm gonna keep it." **_she said before exiting the room and closing the door. Elsa was left all alone once again. Still on the floor with ice surrounding her. She rubbed the cheek that her clone slapped, it still stung. Slowly, she got up off the floor and walked back to her room. Ice also covered the hallway, trailing off as it got near the end. When she got to her room, Elsa picked up her phone and noticed she had one missed call. It was from Anna. She decided to call her back, she needed to talk to someone about what just happened and Anna was her best friend. She would believe her, hopefully. The phone rang twice before someone picked up.

"Elsa? I know this might be a bad time but I just wanna say if you need someone to talk to I'm here. I know what you're going to. Okay, I don't really know what you're going through. I mean, I kinda do. You see my dog died when I was 10 and it was one of the worst days of my life. I cried for like a week afterwards and I was so unapproachable and- Oh my god, what am I saying? I just compared my dog's death to your parents...I am so sorry, Elsa! That was way out of line and oh my god I can't believe I just said that. Could you just, you know, forget I said any of that? I mean that was very insensitive and I-"

"Anna, something just happened that I can't entirely explain over the phone. Could you come over?"

**Six Months Later**

Elsa woke up to the sound of a car door slamming shut. It was still dark out, from what she could tell. Light was emanating from what Elsa assumed to be a gas station store. She had no idea what time it was but from the looks of the lonely cashier inside and the lack of cars outside she assumed it was late at night. She reached in the pockets of her jeans for her phone and turned it on. The front of her phone read 10:30. _It's only been twenty minutes, really? _She rubbed her eyes and stretched to the best of her ability in the passenger seat of the car, just as Anna opened the driver side door and got in.

"Oh, did I wake you up? I'm sorry, I had to get gas."

"No, no. It's fine, Anna. How far away are we?"

Anna started the car and sighed.

"Honestly, we didn't get very far. I have no idea where we're supposed to go so I've just been driving aimlessly for almost half hour. And then I forgot that I hadn't gotten gas in awhile so now we're here. Any ideas on where we can go?"

Elsa was silent for a moment before having a sudden realization.

"Anna, we need to go to my house."

"Why?"

"How are we supposed to go on the run without any clothes? Or food? Or money?"

"Ummm...guess you've got a point."

Anna drove out of the gas station and got back on the road, making her way to Elsa's house.

"Sorry, I haven't actually thought any of this through. I just, I just needed to get you out of there. You know?"

"It's okay, Anna. I know you mean well. I'm still not exactly set on the idea of dragging you into this mess but you've made it perfectly clear that we're in this together."

"Thanks. Say Elsa, what are we gonna do about money? I spent most of mine just filling up the tank. And my credit card is pretty much out of the question."

"What? Why?"

"Well I mean they can track us through our purchases if we use a card."

"Anna, you're being kind of paranoid about this. As for the money situation...uh...I honestly haven't thought that through yet either."

"Dammit! What are we gonna do?"

"Look, we'll think of something alright? For now let's just grab all the other necessities that we'll need."

Before they knew it they were in front of Elsa's house. They found as many suitcases and backpacks as they could and started getting to work on filling them with clothes and food. In half an hour they had packed as much as they could and loaded it into Anna's car.

"You all set, Elsa?"

"Almost. I just need to check one more room."

Elsa walked back into the house and made her way down the hallway, she walked past her bedroom and right in front of her parent's room. She opened the door and was greeted with a cold, dark, lifeless atmosphere. She hadn't set foot in this room in months. She knew that they probably didn't have time to go to the cemetery to gibe a proper goodbye but maybe...maybe this would be enough. She made her way to her mother's closet, the clothes still faintly smelled of her. She pinched the fabric of one of her mother's shirts, running it through her hands. It was just a shirt, but this was the closest contact that she had had with her mother for months. She took the shirt off its hanger and embraced it. "Goodbye, mother." Elsa said softly. She let go of the shirt, put it back on its hanger and went to her father's closet. She did the same thing she did with her mother's shirt, said a soft goodbye to her father and went to close his closet until something caught his eye. On the floor of his closet was a black, leather suitcase. The locks on it were a faded shade of gold and her name was embroidered on the top of it. Elsa picked it up and surveyed it more thoroughly. Aside from her name on the suitcase there was nothing else unique about it. It was just an ordinary suitcase. _But why does it have my name? _Elsa thought, _and why is it in my father's closet? _Elsa decided to take the suitcase with her, closing the door of her parent's room behind her and saying one final goodbye before heading out the front door. Anna was waiting for her inside her car.

"What's that, Elsa?"

"I don't know. It was in my father's closet and it has my name on it?"

"Have you opened it?"

"Not yet, it's getting late though. Let's get to a hotel or something first and I'll open it there."

Anna backed out of Elsa's driveway and got back onto the main road. Elsa stared at the suitcase in her lap. There were so many questions that were going through her mind. What was this for? Why was her name on it? Why would they keep it from her? She decided that it didn't do much good thinking about it, she would open it soon. Instead she tried to distract herself. She looked at Anna, she had been the calm one throughout this whole ordeal. She had no idea where she'd be right now without her. Probably holed up somewhere far away in a home made of black ice or something. Never talking to anyone, never being near anybody. That sounded like hell. She couldn't imagine a life without Anna. Her best friend. The one person that understood what she was going through, the one person she felt safe around. She needed Anna. More than she probably knew.

"Elsa, why are you staring at me like that?"

Elsa snapped out of her trance and looked away embarrassed.

"Like what?"

"Like...I don't know. It's just, I can feel you staring at me. And it feels like...well it's not unsettling. I don't mind you staring at me and all but- wait, that came out wrong! It's just that...gah! I don't know how to explain it!"

Elsa laughed, she always liked it when Anna rambled. It was adorable. Anna was adorable.

"What was that?"

_Crap. Did I say that out loud?_

"Er...uh...what was what?"

"Did you say something, Elsa? Because if you were, then you just mumbled whatever you said."

"I didn't say anything, Anna. That was probably just your imagination."

Anna looked at her face skeptically, scrunching up her eyebrows and studying Elsa who was trying to maintain the straightest face she'd ever had to make. Elsa struggled to look Anna in the eye which didn't help her case at all. After what seemed like forever, Anna finally turned back around to watch the road and gave a light chuckle.

"You're a terrible liar, Elsa."

Elsa went back to fiddling with the handle of the suitcase, her head was down for the rest of the ride, unable to look at Anna again in fear that she may bring up their conversation. After twenty minutes, they found themselves in the parking lot of a hotel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Five Months Ago**

Elsa sat uncomfortably in her chair, watching the clock on the white wall of her science class slowly tick by. Her mind was elsewhere, not paying attention to Anna telling her what they were supposed to do for their lab. It had been a month since the funeral. She made the, what most people called, brave decision to not take time off from school, shocking almost everyone when she marched right through the front doors of her school only two days after the funeral. This didn't deter them though from walking up to Elsa and offering their condolences, telling her that they knew what she was going through (which Elsa thought was a load of bullshit) and that they were there for her if she needed to talk to someone. Teachers were taking it easy on her as well, though they would never say it. She could tell by the way that she was never called on in class to do anything, if she forgot to do an assignment or something they would just tell Elsa to take her time. Elsa didn't want all of this attention that she was getting, she wasn't brave like people told her she was. But she wasn't scared either. Honestly, the funeral hadn't affected her as much as people thought. The past was in the past. Besides, there were were bigger things at work here; it had also been a month since that unexplainable incident.

Elsa thought back to when she had called Anna over to her house to tell her, well, everything. Anna was surprisingly understanding about everything, even when she told Anna about her doppelganger appearing and slapping her.

"_I don't know what to do, Anna. She could come back at anytime, she can take over at anytime. I just...I don't know what to do."_

_Anna made her way towards Elsa, being careful not to slip on the ice still covering the floor. She sat next to Elsa on her bed, putting an arm around her._

"_Elsa, it's okay. You're gonna be okay, just calm down. I'm gonna help you alright? We can figure this out together."_

"_How?! What power do you have to stop her? To stop _me_?"_

"_I don't know, Elsa. Not yet anyway. But I know I can help you."_

_The ice had started to spread once again, covering the walls of her dark room. Black icicles had started to form on the walls and ceiling. Elsa gasped when she saw what she had done, Anna was just as surprised as she was._

"_Anna, you have to go! I can't control it! I might hurt you!"_

"_Elsa,no! I just need you to calm down. Just-"  
_

"_No! Can't you see? You can't be near me right now!"_

"_Elsa! Look at me!"_

_Elsa looked at Anna's face, it was stern and focused. A face of true bravery. Elsa's was the exact opposite. She was frightened, panicked even. Anna took a deep breath before talking._

"_I will never leave you okay? I will always be by your side no matter what. You're my best friend. So I'm going to help you through this. I don't have the answer right now, I don't know how to stop this, not yet anyway, but I will find an answer. You'll be okay, you'll learn to control it. And I wanna be there when you do."_

_Elsa felt something inside of her, something that she felt had left when her parents had died. She felt loved, cared for. She could tell that Anna was telling the truth, that she really wanted to help her. Her breathing finally started to slow down, as did her heartrate. She looked at Anna's face which had softened a little bit, it wasn't as stern anymore. She looked compassionate, honest and kind. For the first time in forever, Elsa smiled._

"_Thank you, Anna. I needed that. I'm sorry for, well, all of this."_

_Anna chuckled lightly. "It's okay, Elsa. Now, I'm pretty sure you're starving so let's get off this messy bed of yours and get something to eat."_

_Elsa laughed, "Alright then, where do you wanna go?"_

_Both girls got up from the bed and left the room, all of the ice had disappeared._

Now a month had passed. Most people had stopped their fake acts of empathy, the teachers didn't give her anymore special treatment, everything was as it used to be. And Elsa was fine with that. She didn't like small talk anyway and she didn't believe a single word that a total stranger said to her. Anna was her only friend. She was the only one that truly understood her, the only one that could help her. Anna was the only one she needed.

"Elsa?"

Elsa was suddenly brought back to reality by a voice to her right. She looked to see Anna staring at her with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Elsa were you listening to a word I jut said?"

"Hmm? No sorry I was just...thinking is all."

Anna leaned in closer, worried. "Is...is _she _back?", she whispered.

"No! She's not back. But still, she can appear at any time. Sorry to scare you like that. I was just looking back on this past month, it's just all gone by so fast. Anyway, what are we supposed to be working on?"

Just as Anna was about to explain what their lab is supposed to be the bell rang to signal the end of class.

"Crap, well I guess it doesn't matter now. Anyway, let's get going."

Elsa gathered her supplies and put them in her bag as Anna did the same, both girls made their way out of the classroom.

"You sure you're okay?",Anna asked.

"Yes, Anna, I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me."

"Actually I kinda have to worry about you, you know?"

"I do know. And I can assure you I'm-"

Elsa's response was cut short as she bumped into someone. She would have fallen to the floor had Anna not catch her in time.

"Hey! What the hell man?!" Anna said, coming to the aid of her friend.

Elsa looked up to see who it was that had knocked her down and was greeted with the sight of a tall, stocky man. His face was soft and earnest and he had the most unbelievable sideburns. He had a worried expression as he looked down at Elsa with his light brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?" the man asked.

Elsa realized that she was expected to respond and finally came to her senses. She picked herself up and out of Anna's arms.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's alright. Just a little bump is all."

"Oh, thank goodness." The man gave a heartwarming smile to Elsa which she couldn't help but return. The trio stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity until Anna broke the silence.

"_Ahem." _

Elsa turned around to see Anna looking at her with a face that said "We have to go."

"Elsa come on, we have to go. We'll be late for class."

"Oh...uh, right. Class." Elsa turned around to face the man once more. "I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, totally." the man said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Anna, now clearly exasperated grabbed a hold of Elsa's wrist to drag her towards their next class. Elsa hurriedly said goodbye to the man. Anna rushed Elsa around a corner to get to their next class, neither of them talking until Elsa finally broke the silence.

"Do you know what that was?"

Anna took awhile to reply, her back still turned to Elsa, her hand still gripping her wrist. She sighed, "Yes. I do. His name is Hans and I don't trust him so don't even think about."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw the way you were looking at him."

Anna abruptly turned around and looked directly at Elsa's face. She was glaring at Elsa, studying her as she asked "You like him, don't you?"

Elsa was taken aback by the question. Her face was flushed and her cheeks were probably a shade of vermillion.

"WHAT?! NO I DON'T! I don't even know him how...how could you say such a thing Anna?!"

"Elsa, I know you. You are, and have always been, a terrible liar. And I'm warning you right now, stay away from him. There's just something about him. I don't trust him alright?"

"Look I'm not saying I like him, because I don't. All I'm saying is I think you have the wrong idea about him. He seems...nice."

"Whatever. Come on, let's get inside."

The next hour was a blur for Elsa. She kept thinking back to that moment with Hans. She remembered his tall slender frame, the way his soft light brown eyes pierced into her...soul? Was that the word? She didn't exactly know what he pierced through but it was something. She remembered his silky dark brown hair and how perfect it looked. She remembered his most defining feature: his sideburns. The care that was taken into making them look so well kept was astonishing. They just trailed down his face, it was honestly amazing. This time Anna wasn't sitting next to her to keep her from getting lost in thought and so Elsa sat in her chair and continued to daydream about Hans for the rest of the hour, not focused on whatever lesson she was supposed to be taking notes for. Her thoughts were finally interrupted by the bell signaling the end of class and also the end of the day. Elsa got up out of her chair and gathered her things. Anna caught up with her as she made her way to the door.

"You wanna go back to your place or mine?"

"If you could just drop me off at home, that'd be great. It's been a long day. I'm just gonna get some stuff from my locker so I'll meet you in the parking lot, alright?"

"Okay. Just remember to call me if anything happens."

Elsa walked to her locker. From what she could remember, she had homework in all but two of her classes so she'd probably have to bring a lot of her stuff home. As Elsa figured out just how in the world she was gonna fit all of this stuff in her bag she was suddenly approached by a familiar figure.

"Hey."

Elsa jumped slightly in shock and turned around to find the source of the voice. She was met with the face she had been daydreaming about for an hour.

"Oh! Hans! You startled me."

"Sorry about that. Where's your friend?"

"Anna? She's actually waiting for me in the parking lot so I actually have to go."

Elsa turned back around to try and squeeze the last of her books into her bag that was already filled to capacity. She gave a light grunt as she tried her hardest to fit it in, but to no avail.

"Screw it, I'll just carry it."

Hans was witness to the whole thing and laughed, the sound was music to Elsa's ears.

"I, uh...I better go. Anna's probably waiting for me and I don't wanna keep her waiting for too long."

"Wait! Uh, before you go I just wanted to ask, uh that is...I wanted to make up for bumping you into earlier."

Elsa stared at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Let me take you out to dinner! That is, I mean, if you want. I would love to make up my lack of, well, coordination?"

Hans gave a very nervous chuckle which mimicked the one that Elsa made. Elsa was surprised. She didn't exactly know what to do in this situation. It's not like she didn't _not _want to go out with him, but at the same time she had just _met_ the guy. But then again she _did _just daydream about for practically an hour. But what about Anna? She told her not to trust Hans. But she didn't really say why. Elsa was incredibly conflicted.

"It's cool if you don't want to. I know this is all kinda sudden and I don't wanna put you on the spot or anything. So...yeah I'll just go then."

Elsa watched as Hans walked away. He took five steps before Elsa finally said something.

"Hans, wait!"

Hans turned around, slyly hiding a hopeful look on his face. Elsa exhaled deeply before finally speaking up.

"A date would be...nice. I'd love to. Go on a date with you, I mean."

"Great! Umm, how about I pick you up Friday at...7?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's perfect. Can I, uh, get your number?"

"Oh yeah, sure. No problem."

Elsa and Hans exchanged their numbers and said a quick goodbye. Elsa looked back once she got far enough and was surprised to see that Hans had already disappeared somewhere in the sea of students. She looked at his number again one more time and smiled. The smile quickly faded as she had a stunning realization.

"Anna is going to kill me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Five Months Later**

Both girls got out of Anna's car and stood in front of the open trunk, looking at the hastily packed luggage. They stood in silence until a minute later Anna finally spoke up.

"So...how much should we bring inside with us?"

Elsa sighed, "I'm not sure. Between the both of us we probably only have enough money for one night so...I guess we should only take one suitcase with us?"

"If you say so, Elsa. Here I'll get it, you've already got something to hold."

They made their way to the front door of the hotel. Anna, fully aware of their money situation, found a hotel that looked, well, affordable. It was more of a motel, really. There was a large neon sign in the front that overlooked the street. The neon lights flickered on and off, flashing a green arrow that pointed to the front entrance of the motel. The main building, which housed all of the rooms, looked old and faded. It was two stories tall; to their left were the rooms, a few of the numbers on the doors had been scratched off and a rusted staircase connected both floors. In front of them was the, for lack of a better word, lobby which looked just as nice as the main building. The glass panes on the front door were dirty and the paint on the handles were chipped.

Elsa clutched the briefcase to her chest, "Anna...I'm not sure I like the looks of this place."

Anna kept moving, a dark blue suitcase trailing right behind her.

"Relax, Elsa. I mean yeah this place looks like utter crap but I'm sure we'll be fine. And you know what they say, beggars can't be choosers."

Elsa pulled the front door open for Anna. They were both greeted with a large, poorly lit room. Three hideous sofas were present in the center of the room facing each other. In the center of the sofas was a coffee table that was littered with outdated magazines and a wilted flower was used as a centerpiece. A television was hanging from a corner of the room, the show was unknown to both girls. On the far side was a large desk, an old and tired woman sat behind it, slowly tapping away at a computer. Anna walked up to the woman with Elsa trailing right behind her. The receptionist didn't seem to notice them walking up to the front desk.

Anna was the first to try and break the awkward silence, "Ummm...hi? I was wondering if we could maybe, um, get a room for tonight?"

The receptionist finally stopped typing and slowly looked up at the pair.

"One room or two?" she asked in a raspy and almost certainly annoyed voice.

Both women exchanged a quick glance before Anna replied, "One, I guess."

"Well good because we only have one room open. It's only got one bed so take it or leave it."

Both women exchanged a not so quick glance this time. Elsa hoped that the blush she had on her face wasn't incredibly apparent. She had never thought that she would have to share a bed with Anna, honestly so much had happened in the past few hours that she really didn't have time to think about much. But, like Anna said, beggars can't be choosers so if this is what they had to deal with it then so be it.

"_**Oh come on now Elsa. Secretly you are loving the idea of sharing a bed with Anna, don't deny it."**_

Elsa quickly turned around and scanned the room but didn't see anyone else but Anna and the receptionist. Her doppelganger hadn't made a physical appearance since her parent's funeral six months ago but she couldn't be too sure. Elsa looked down and saw that black ice had started to cover the briefcase. Anna turned around as well to check on her friend.

"Elsa, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine...it's just." Elsa looked down at the briefcase, hoping that Anna would get the message. Luckily she did.

"_Ahem. _Well what's it gonna be?"

Anna turned back around to face the receptionist, "Oh! Uh, yeah sure we'll take it."

The annoyed woman got up from her chair and opened a drawer, grabbing a key with a keychain that had the number 8 drawn on it.

"It's 30 dollars for one night." she said sternly.

Anna grabbed her wallet from her pocket and sighed as she opened it. She turned around to look at Elsa.

"Elsa...I'm gonna need some more money to pay for the room." Anna whispered.

Elsa looked up at her, picking up her gaze that was locked onto the floor. Her blue eyes showed a desperation to leave the lobby immediately. "How much more do you need?" she whispered back.

Anna grinned sheepishly, "Uhh...30 dollars?"

Elsa reached into her pocket for her wallet and quickly gave her the money she needed, hoping the receptionist didn't see the black ice start to cover her wallet as well. Anna thanked her and went to pay the receptionist, who gave away the key and went back to typing away at her computer. They made their escape right out the front door.

Anna stopped Elsa as they hurriedly walked to their room. She braced her hands on Elsa's arms and ducked her head to look at her face which still had that look of desperation and worry and her eyes boring a hole into the ground.

"Elsa, what happened back there?"

"I don't know. I just...I heard her voice but she wasn't there. And then I looked down and I saw the ice and...I don't know!"

"Alright, just calm down. Here, look at me."

Elsa's fast pace slowed as she brought her head up to look into Anna's eyes. The world slowed down around her as she looked into those deep pools of green.

"I need you to calm down, okay? I'm right here, Elsa. I'm right here. She can't hurt you when I'm around."

Elsa finally stopped walking andcontinued to stare into Anna's eyes as she talked, finding herself getting lost in them and she soon felt the ice start to recede. After what seemed like an eternity she brought herself back to reality and nodded to show Anna that she understood what she was saying.

Anna smiled after she finally got a response, "Come on, let's get to our room."

**Five Months Ago**

Elsa stepped out of Hans' car, being careful not to mess up the light blue dress she decided to wear for tonight. She looked to see Hans rushing over to the passenger side of the car.

"Oh, uh...I could've helped you out of the car. I mean, I know you could do it by yourself it's just, you know, common courtesy and all."

"It's fine." Elsa replied with a nervous grin. This was the first date that she had been on before and she didn't know what she was doing at all. They were going to a popular restaurant close to the school and yet Elsa saw it fit to wear an incredibly elegant dress that, according to Hans, was breathtaking. Hans himself wore a simple green button down shirt and jeans, it seemed that, unlike Elsa, he had done this before. Needless to say that due to nervous she had over prepared for this date.

"So, uh...shall we get going?"

"Yes! I mean, uh, yeah sure."

As they walked side by side, Elsa took the time to take in the sights around her. The place was bustling with activity what with it being a Friday night and all. High schools students littered the area, enjoying the weekend ahead of them. There were so many conversations going on around them and the music was booming through the speakers outside of the restaurant that it was a miracle they could hear themselves speak. Other students had walked up to the couple, saying hi to Hans mostly. It wasn't that they didn't know Elsa, it's just that she rarely ever talked to anyone and so no one knew what to say to her exactly. Not to mention her parents' funeral was only a month ago and so they didn't if Elsa would be very approachable. As they neared the front door Hans rushed over to open it for Elsa, which she politely thanked him for and, after about a ten minute wait (which was miraculously short considering the sheer amount of people present), they found themselves in a booth.

The couple finished ordering and struck up a conversation with one another. As they spoke Elsa couldn't help but think about a conversation she had had with Anna earlier that day.

"_Goddamit, Elsa. Just...goddamit."_

"_Look, I'm sorry okay? I mean it's not like I had a good reason to say no! He was being nice and besides, you never gave me a good reason not to go out with him."_

_They were both making their way to Elsa's house when she finally told Anna what had transpired only five minutes ago. Needless to say Anna did not approve._

"_You _just _met the guy! You know nothing about him except that he's good looking, nice and...well that's about it. And now you're going on a date with him?!"_

"_I said I was sorry! I was just surprised when he asked me out. I mean you're the only one that talks to me so it felt, you know, nice to be talked to about anything other than my parents and how I was 'coping with my loss'. I liked being talked to like a normal person."_

_Just as she said that, a sharp ringing sound pierced through Elsa's head accompanied by a familiar demonic, female voice. _

"**_Come on now Elsa stop lying to yourself. He asked you out because he pities you like all the rest. When the date is over he'll leave you just like that but at least he can say to all of his friends that he made an effort to get the weird girl out of his shell."_**

_Oblivious to Anna, who was trying to focus on the road, Elsa had doubled over. Her face was buried into the bag that was on her lap, one hand wrapping around the bag and the other grabbing her head as if she was in pain._

"_Well that's nice to know but I still don't-", Anna had stopped talking when she looked over and saw Elsa in serious pain and whispering to herself. She tried to call out her name multiple times but it seemed like she didn't hear her._

_Elsa kept whispering "Please stop." over and over again. Still unable to hear anything but the abusive voice in her head. Black ice had quickly formed around her backpack and was now making its way around the passenger side of the car._

_Anna decided to pull over and unbuckle her seat belt, reaching over to put an arm around Elsa. But Elsa flinched at her touch and pulled away, frightened. Anna tried calling out her name but to no avail, she could still barely hear anything. _

_Elsa finally looked around and saw what she had done, which only made the situation worse._

"_Elsa please! You have to calm down! Come on, Elsa!"_

_She needed to do something quick before it was too late. Anna did the only thing she could think of at the moment, which was to slap the bag away from Elsa and embrace her as tight as she could. She could feel Elsa's heart racing and her breathing was fast and unsteady. _

"_Shh...Elsa, it's okay. I've got you. I'm right here." Anna said softly._

_Elsa still had one hand clutched onto her head and her ears were still ringing, but she felt Anna's warm body holding onto her and she suddenly felt warmer as well. Soon the ringing subsided and she was able to hear Anna's soothing words. The grip on her head loosened and she felt her breathing and heart rate return to its normal state. The ice, which had formed around the entire interior of the car had stopped growing and in fact was slowly retreating._

_When she finally felt like Elsa was back to normal Anna finally looked up._

"_Elsa...are you okay?"_

_Elsa didn't answer. She looked down to see Anna staring up at her, a sad smile across her face. Tears had started to form in Elsa's eyes and she decided to just let it go. She held on tightly to her best friend as she cried and cried and cried._

"Elsa...are you okay?"

Elsa heard that same question again, but this time it wasn't from her best friend, but from the man sitting in front of her. She quickly remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing and replied.

"Yes! Yes! I'm, uh...fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well it's just that I was talking to you and you kinda...went away, I guess. And then you got this really sad look on your face so I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm alright, I was just thinking about...something. You don't have to worry, really."

Hans reached across the table and put his hand over Elsa's. He had a compassionate smile across his face that Elsa tried to match.

"Elsa I promise you, you can talk to me about anything. Now come on, what's bothering you?"

Elsa was unsure of what to say in this situation. **Could **she trust Hans? I mean, she **did **just meet the guy. But he seemed pretty trustworthy, something she felt Anna got wrong. Could she tell him about her...problem? Maybe...maybe he could her. It seemed like Anna could help her get through this but what if she wasn't around to help her like in this very situation. Hans possessed the same kindness and willingness to help that she saw in Anna, but there was still that lingering thought that she **did** just meet him. He seemed nice now but maybe she would find out things about Hans that would regret putting her trust in him.

Before she could answer, a waiter had approached their table with their orders and they decided to drop the subject, which Elsa was grateful for, and talked about other things instead.

"So how long have been friends with Anna?"

"We've been friends our entire lives really. Well that's not true, we met in like the fourth grade. I was the shy awkward kid who no one knew what to do with and Anna just walked up to me one day and just asked if I wanted to be her friend right out of the blue."

"And the rest was history?"

"Well no, in fact I didn't even say no right away. But she was pretty resilient. Every day it was the same thing. She just kept asking over and over again if I would be her friend until one day I finally said yes. And I'm glad I did. When school was out for the winter she would have her parents drive up to my house just so I could build a snowman with her. And of course I always said yes. She always liked the way I made my snowmen. They were short, had these really weird bodies and the head was more of an oval shape than a circle. But she loved them. I named it Olaf and he loved warm hugs."

"That's adorable! And it sounds like Anna is very important to you."

Elsa sighed, "Yeah, she really is."

The rest of the night went fairly well. They finished their meals, walked back to Hans' car and soon found themselves at the front door of Elsa's house.

They stood in silence until Hans finally spoke, "So, uh...yeah this was nice."

"Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Thank you."

"Ah, it's no problem really. No need for a thank you. Can...can we do this again sometime?"

Elsa smiled, "I'd like tha-"

Her sentence was interrupted as a familiar feeling came over her. Once again her ears started ringing and she heard a voice laughing at her.

"_**Aww! Look at that, he likes you! It probably won't matter though, give him a couple weeks and he'll see how much of a freak you are and dump you like the trash you are. Hell, it probably won't even take a couple weeks."**_

Elsa gripped the handle to her front door, holding herself up as she tried to steady herself and her breathing. Hans in the meanwhile, was shocked at the events transpiring, unsure of what to do.

"Elsa, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Elsa didn't answer of course, instead she tried as hard as she could to force the locked door open, whispering "Please stop." over and over again.

"Stop what? Elsa, are you okay? Is everything-" Hans stopped speaking as he saw the ice form around the front door.

Elsa quickly noticed as well and looked at Hans, frightened at how he would react. Both of them were now frozen in fear. Hans was confused at what he was seeing.

"Hans." was the only thing Elsa could say in her state. She didn't know what to do. Her secret was out, Hans was just gonna leave and never look back, she just knew it. She had to trust that he would keep her secret safe but she wouldn't know for sure.

Tears started forming in her eyes once again. This was so unfair for her. She was happy once again, she thought everything was going to be okay. She was a fool to forget the monster inside of her.

"_**You think you deserve to be happy?! Really now?! Look at you, you're a mess. You're a sad mistake for a human being, you shouldn't exist! You're a fool, Elsa! A fucking fool!"**_

Elsa pressed her palms to the side of her head as hard as she could, trying to drown out her voice. The ice had finally covered the entire door and was making its way around the rest of the house and ice spikes had quickly sprouted all across the ground. Hans needed to leave before he was accidentally hurt and Elsa knew this.

"Hans, you have to-", Elsa's warning was cut short as Hans quickly leaned in to silence her with a kiss.

Elsa was a flurry of emotions, but shocked was the most apparent. She didn't understand why this was happening, but in her state she just decided to give in. Her hearing was finally coming back to her surprisingly, she had calmed down enough and broke the kiss.

"Hans...why?!"

Instead of answering, Hans leaned in once more to kiss Elsa again. The ice had not retreated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Three Months Ago**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Elsa was abruptly awoken from her slumber by a loud and incredibly annoying noise coming from the other side of her room. She begrudgingly sat up from her bed, stretched and rubbed her eyes to wake herself up even more. Slowly, she got up off her bed and made her way to the alarm clock that sat atop her computer desk and turned it off. Usually, she would have taken longer to get up, choosing instead to stay in her bed and let the alarm clock go on for as long as possible, her mind and her body already giving up that urge to attack the day and to deal with basically everyone. Usually she would just tell herself that it wasn't worth it to get up, knowing that the monster was still in her somewhere and could fuck up her life without a moment's notice. But this wasn't the case anymore. This hadn't been the case for two months. Not since her first date with Hans.

With the energy and gleefulness matched only by that of a princess in a fairy tale, Elsa got herself ready for the day. She thought back to that first date. When Hans had kissed her and made the monster retreat back into the depths of Elsa's psyche.

"I don't see you as a freak. Or insane. Or a monster. I see someone that needs help. And I want to be there to help you, every step of the way."

Those were the exact words Hans told her. Upon hearing them, Elsa smiled and began to cry tears of joy. Out of all the possible outcomes she had thought of, this was certainly the one she least expected it, but the one she wanted the most. She had someone other than Anna who knew of her struggle, her pain, and not only understood but also wanted to help.

That was two months ago. Elsa had spent a lot more time with Hans since then and learned a lot more about him. Hans was an only child and his parents worked a lot so he barely got to see them. He surrounded himself with others he wouldn't really call good friends, but he knew them well enough that he never had to worry about being lonely. He wanted to be honest with Elsa, so one day when they were at his house he told her about the bad habit he picked up as a result of being alone with a liquor cabinet that was never locked.

"_You drink?!" Elsa asked._

"_Yes. But only on weekends and I never leave my house when I do."_

"_Well that's great and all but you drink?!"_

_Hans sighed, "I know this comes as a shock to you and I know this doesn't look good but I wanted to be honest with you. I wouldn't have told you this if I didn't have it all under control. Can you trust me?"_

"_I..."_

_Elsa was hesitant. She didn't like the fact that Hans was drinking. She always hated alcohol of any kind and wouldn't even think of touching the stuff when she became old enough to actually drink it. But she couldn't exactly tell Hans to stop drinking. If he said he had it under control then maybe he did._

_She smiled and kissed Hans, "Alright. I trust you. If you say you've got this under control then who am I to stop you."_

As they spent more time together Elsa kept noticing a recurring trend that she didn't quite understand. The monster continued to make appearances from time to time and, just like on their first date, Hans was able to calm her down. It had gotten to the point where her appearances only felt like a really bad migraine for Elsa. But the ice never retreated. Stains of black followed her wherever she went, they never left when she was with Hans. He may have helped her push the demon back down but for some reason he couldn't help her from thawing the ice. Now that she thought about it, the only person that could really do both was...Anna.

Elsa's phone went off in her pocket as she made her way down the stairs of her house. It was a text message from Anna herself.

_I brought breakfast, open your door or else I'm eating all of it._

Elsa smiled at the text and went to open the front door. She decided not to dwell on the subject anymore, there was no use in making sense of something that didn't make much sense to begin with. At her doorway stood her best friend, backpack slung over one arm, a Mcdonald's bag in hand and a half-eaten sandwich in her mouth. She quickly took the sandwich out of her mouth and let herself in.

"Well that was fast." Anna said as she set the breakfast bag on the dining room table.

"No, it was just a coincidence that you texted me on my way down the stairs."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. Now come on, let's eat. I'm starving!"

Both girls ate in silence, at least for a minute until Anna finally spoke up.

"Alright, I lied and silence is boring. Now why were you ready so early anyway?"

Elsa shrugged, "I don't know. I just woke up feeling incredibly awake and I just, you know, got stuff done a lot faster than usual." She checked her phone and realized it was only 7:45, "Why are you here so early anyway?"

Anna took a bite from her sandwich and swallowed before answering. "Thought this would be a good wake up call for you. Besides, we haven't hung out as much ever since you started dating Hans."

This was true. She used to spend 100 percent of her time with Anna, now with Hans in the picture it was roughly 50/50. She felt guilty for neglecting her best friend but she couldn't help it. She needed to get to know Hans better, to see if she could **truly** trust him with her secret.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just like you said I've been busy with Hans."

Anna looked at Elsa with a sly grin, "Busy?"

Elsa's face flushed red at that question and she almost choked on her breakfast which caused her to cough uncontrollably. It was an incredibly poor choice of words and she only had herself to blame. After her coughing fit subsided she finally replied, "No! No! I didn't mean it like **that**! I just meant that I've been spending a lot of time with him and- wait, no! That's not what I meant either! I'm just...getting to know him better."

Anna had been laughing at her best friend stumbling with her words, "It's okay Elsa, I got what you were trying to say."

Elsa pouted. She didn't particularly enjoy Anna laughing at her expense but she wasn't going to make a fuss about it. Besides, she kind of enjoyed Anna's laugh. It was cute, joyful and adorable all at the same time.

"Oh come on, lighten up Elsa! It's all in good fun. Besides, I know you're too innocent and pure to let Hans even get past first base."

Elsa's eyes widened at the statement and she was incredibly shocked Anna would say that.

"Anna!"

"Fine, I'll stop! Yeesh Elsa you've got to loosen up. Still, you're cute when you act all high strung."

For some reason that last sentence had stunned Elsa into silence. She just stared at Anna for what seemed like forever, lost in her thoughts.

_Did Anna seriously just say that? Did she just say I'm cute? Wait, why am I shocked about this? I'm sure she's called me cute before, right? It's no big deal. She probably doesn't even know what she said. Or maybe she does and she's just brushed it off as no big deal. So why am _I _making such a big deal out of this?_

"Elsa? You okay?"

Elsa had realized that she was still staring at Anna and shaked herself out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just...thinking."

"About what?"

Elsa was stumped, she didn't know what to say in this situation. She couldn't exactly say that she was thinking about Anna calling her cute, that would probably be weird. She decided to say the first thing that came to mind.

"Hans. Yeah, I was just uh...thinking about Hans and what he's doing right now." 

"Oh. Okay..."

Something was wrong, Elsa could tell. She noticed a faint glimmer of hurt in Anna's face when she had mentioned Hans. Did that strike a nerve in Anna? There's no way she could be hurt because Elsa brought him up. Hans was the topic of half their conversation.

"Anna, what's wrong."

Without missing a beat Anna replied, "Nothing."

"Come on Anna, I know you better than that. Is it because I said I was thinking about Hans?"

Anna didn't respond. Instead she checked her phone and got up out of her chair.

"Let's get going. Here I'll help clean up. You barely touched your food by the way."

Elsa watched as Anna cleaned up her dining room table. She hated seeing her best friend like this, not talking and with a stonefaced expression. She must have been really hurt with that Hans comment. She would apologize but she knew it was best for Anna to soften up and get to a point where she could actually talk to her.

Once everything had been cleaned up they headed for Anna's car and drove off. Awkward silence permeated the car, after enough time passed that Elsa assumed Anna had lightened up more she tried to break the silence.

"Anna, I'm sorry okay? Now can you please talk to me?"

Anna didn't respond right away. After a few seconds she sighed, "There's no reason for you to be sorry. I'm just mad at you for some stupid reason and I shouldn't be."

Elsa thought better than to keep touching on the issue and tried to change the subject, "You know I could just drive myself. I have a car, you know."

Anna smiled but Elsa could tell it was forced, "I know you do. But I've been driving you around for the past few months anyway and I don't see a reason to stop. And before you say that it's a waste of gas I'd just like to point out that your house is on the way to the school anyway."

"Well I can't argue with that logic. Still, I've barely used my car in the past few months."

"Meh. Your car sucks anyway. Mine's better."

Elsa opened her mouth to retort but she thought better of it, "Dammit. You're right."

Anna giggled lightly, "Of course I am."

Soon they found themselves in the parking lot of their high school. Students were scattered all around them which made it hard to maneuver. Soon though they were able to find a parking spot and make their way inside the school.

"Alright I'll see you in Science, alright?" Anna asked.

Elsa nodded and gave her best friend a hug. She didn't pull back right away, she let the embrace linger for longer than usual, using it as a silent apology to Anna who, to her credit, didn't pull back right away either. Finally they parted and went their separate ways. Elsa made her way towards her locker, only half surprised to see a familiar figure leaning on it.

Elsa smiled, "Hey, Hans."

"Hey yourself." Hans said as he pulled Elsa in for a kiss.

Elsa pulled herself slowly out of Hans' embrace and went to open her locker as Hans kept talking.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Surprisingly well actually. I woke up feeling really good so I hope the day is the same."

"Wow, you know I expected like a one word response. I forgot you're different. It's a good different! Sorry, that was a poor choice of words."

Elsa laughed, "It's okay I know what you mean."

"Oh...good."

The couple continued to talk as Elsa packed her bag with all the things she would need for today. Somehow the conversation had found its way to the topic of birthdays.

"Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask but when's your birthday? Please tell me it hasn't already passed."

Elsa smiled "No it hasn't. Actually now that I think about it it's exactly three months from now."

"Oh thank god! That gives me time to plan something incredible for the occasion."

Elsa blushed, "You don't have to. It doesn't have to be anything big. In fact I'd prefer it if it were just me, you and Anna just hanging out for the day. You don't mind if Anna celebrates my birthday with us right?"

"Anything for the birthday girl. Besides I couldn't exactly say no, that'd be too rude. You don't think she'll feel like a third wheel?"

"I'm not sure. I'll talk to her, don't worry. Besides we've got a lot of time."

"Alright. I'll see you later then?"

The couple kissed once more before they left for their respective classes. The rest of the day went by in a blur for Elsa and pretty soon it was the end of the day. Anna had decided to come over to Elsa's house in order to study which gave her an opportunity to bring up the birthday situation.

"Isn't your birthday like not for another three months though?"

"Well...yeah. But Hans and I were talking about birthdays and he asked me when mine was and so now we're here. I'm being serious, Anna. There's nothing I'd rather do for my birthday that hang out with you and Hans. You're the only friends I have anyway."

Anna nodded, "True. But I'll feel like such a third wheel and it'll be so awkward. It's probably best if it's just you and Hans for your birthday, I'll completely understand. We'll just hang out some other time."

There it was again, that faint hurt expression that Elsa saw on her that morning. She regretted bringing up the subject and making her best friend feel like this. She felt guilty. But how was she supposed to know that this was going to be such a touchy subject?

"Anna, please don't be like this! You're my best friend, of course I want to spend my birthday with you. Please try to understand tha-"

"_**Oh just quit it, Elsa. Can't you see all the pain you're causing her?! How can you be selfish? Who gives a shit about your birthday anyway? The only reason you're making such a big deal about it in the first place is because it's the one day that people are forced to acknowledge your existence. Just shut up, Elsa. Shut up before you lose everyone you love because of your selfishness!"**_

That feeling was back once again. It was as strong at it had ever been for the past two months. It felt worse than a bad migraine, the loud ringing in her ears returned, her heart was racing and she felt...she felt her vision start to fade. What was this? This never happened before. Was she going blind? Soon all she could see was darkness and she became incredibly frightened. The ice had quickly frozen her dining room table and was spreading across her house at an alarming pace.

"Elsa!" Anna hurried over to her side and wrapped her arms around her. This had helped before, maybe it would help once again. The ice that continued to grow proved that to be a wasted effort. But Anna didn't give up, she wrapped her arms tighter around Elsa.

"Anna! I don't...I don't know what's happening! I can't see! I can't..."

"It's okay Elsa. I've got you. You're going to be okay. I'm not gonna go anywhere until this all passes, alright? I'll take care of you."

To Elsa this all felt like a lost cause, she thought she would stay blind forever and that Anna's words could do nothing to help her. But she soon found how wrong that thought was. The ringing in her ears had ceased, her breathing felt fine, her heart stopped racing and her eyesight...her eyesight came back to her. Slowly, but surely. She could finally make out her best friend hugging her as tight as she could and she decided to return the favor. Tears started to line her face as she spoke.

"Thank you, Anna. For always being there for me. Thank you so much."

"Shh...it's fine, Elsa. No need to thank me, I mean what are friends for?"

Elsa smiled. She honestly didn't know where she would be right now without her best friend watching out for her. She needed her probably more than she really knew. Both girls stayed where they were, neither one of them talking for awhile until they finally decided to break from their embrace.

Anna giggled lightly, "Let's just drop the birthday talk for now alright?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright well it's been like five chapters or something so I probably owe like an introduction. Hi everyone, my name is vinjhup and...and that's pretty much all you need to know. There's really nothing special you need to know about me. I should be kinda mad that I've only gotten like 10 followers and no reviews but in all honesty I'm not. I didn't think it would get any recognition. So I guess this is a thank you. Thanks for reading this story that I didn't think would amount to anything. Anyway enough with the sappy stuff. On with the fic!**

**3 Days Ago**

"It's in three days! I don't know why you're not that excited about it!"

"I _am_! Well I mean I'm a little excited for it. But I mean...I'm only turning 19. Nothing really special about that number."

"But it's your _birthday_! The one day out of the year where everyone worships you like a Queen. Well, I mean, at least I will."

Elsa smiled as she looked up from Hans' embrace. They were in his living room, on his couch with the TV playing in the background. She had been spending a lot of time here as of late. If she wasn't hanging out with Anna, she was here with Hans. After her last encounter with the monster, in which the side effects had started to develop and get stronger, she feared being alone ever again. What if they got stronger and stronger? Would she become permanently blind? Would she never be able to hear again? Would it take over her entire being? This is what went on in her head day after day. She was worried and scared and so she surrounded herself with the two people she could trust. Anna understood what she was going through and agreed, so did Hans. Elsa was grateful for the both of them but she knew this wouldn't be a permanent fix to her problem. For now, though, she wanted to at least try and repress these thoughts. Hans was right it was her birthday soon, she at least deserved one day of happiness.

She scooched up and kissed Hans, "I'm glad I found you."

Hans smiled and returned the kiss, "Me too. Now, have you decided what you actually want to do for your birthday."

Elsa looked around her, "Well I mean I guess we could just celebrate it here. This is a good a place as any. I'm not entirely comfortable with going out, well, anywhere anymore."

Hans nodded, "I understand. But what about, you know, food? What do you feel like?"

"Whatever you can cook is fine."

"Whatever _I _can cook. Okay, I see how it is."

"Well it's just like you said. You will treat me like a Queen, so whatever I say goes."

Hans smirked at Elsa's attempts at being coy and said the three words he didn't think he would say a few months ago.

"I love you."

Time stopped as they both looked into each others' eyes, frozen in shock at what Hans had just said. Neither knowing just how to react. Everything hinged on how Elsa would reply. But how _would _she reply? Did she love him back? I mean, he was there for her when she needed someone the most. She had Anna, of course, but she knew she wouldn't be there for her 24/7. It was true that this was the happiest she had ever been in months. And he didn't run away when her secret was spilled, no he wanted to help her which she would have never expected. Hans saved her. That was a fact. But did she love him? Would she call what he felt for him love?

Hans cleared his throat, "I'm sorry I...I'm not sure why I said that. I put you in an uncomfortable position. Just...just forget I said anything."

Elsa grabbed Hans by the collar and pulled him in for an incredibly intense kiss. Hans himself was surprised at this but soon decided to give in and pulled Elsa closer towards him. Both stayed where they were, lips locked for what seemed like forever until they both needed to breath. Through labored breaths, Elsa finally replied.

"I love you too."

**Two Days Ago**

"You said you _loved _him?!"

"Well...yeah."

Anna stared at her best friend, a look of shock and exasperation on her face at her best friend's news. They were busy studying at Elsa's house. Books laid out on the dining table that had been covered with black ice two months ago. Elsa looked sheepishly at her best friend, out of all the possible reactions she would have expected from her this was...well actually this was on the top of her list but it still took her by surprise.

"Did you mean it?"

Elsa didn't reply right away which Anna was quick to notice. Anna leaned in closer to her best friend, staring her right in her eyes. Elsa's kneejerk reaction was to pull back from Anna, who she felt was uncomfortably close. She broke eye contact with Anna and, before she became even more suspicious of Elsa's exclamation, finally replied.

"Yes, I did."

To prove she was telling the truth Elsa made a grand effort to look Anna in the eyes once again. Not breaking eye contact until Anna finally pulled away.

"You're a terrible liar, Elsa."

Elsa herself was shocked at this retort. Her best friend didn't trust her, which felt like a harsh low blow.

"But I can see that you're not lying right now. If you say that you actually love him, then I have no reason to not believe you."

Elsa finally exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding in. She smiled and looked at Anna.

"Thanks for believing me and being so cool about this."

"No need to thank me. That's what friends are for, right? To be understanding and supportive when their friends decide to do or say something crazy."

"Anna!"

"I'm kidding!"

Elsa looked at Anna, studying her to see if she was telling the truth.

"I really am. I'm happy for you, Elsa. You've found someone who loves you and who you love back. That's all I can ask for my best friend in the whole world.

Elsa smiled and felt ecstatic hearing those heartwarming words. She pulled Anna in to a warm, tight hug and thanked her. Anna hugged her back just as tightly. After awhile they finally separated.

"So...when's the wedding?"

"_Anna!_"

Anna chuckled, "I'm _kidding_!"

**One Day Ago**

Elsa hurriedly put on the clothes she had randomly found in her closet. She and Anna were supposed to meet Hans at his house...ten minutes ago. Which means Anna had probably been waiting outside her door for a very long time. So fashion be damned. Elsa hurried down the stairs and opened her front door just in time to see her best friend, an annoyed look on her face, with her fist raised just about to knock on her door.

"What took you so long?!"

"I'm sorry! I, uh...overslept?"

"It's 6 PM."

"Look does it really matter?! Let's go!"

Anna sighed and followed Elsa, who had already opened the passenger side door to Anna's car. She was incredibly eager to get to Hans' house.

Anna started the car, "Well you look pretty happy."

"Why wouldn't I be? It's my birthday!"

"Well I mean, a few months ago you were never this excited about your birthday but now..."

"Well that's changed now. Hans finally convinced me that I _should _make a big deal out of today. I mean it's the one day where you're allowed to feel, well, special. And besides, I need a good day after everything that's happened."

Anna looked at her best friend, happy that she was happy, "I understand, Elsa. Now...how many red lights do you think I'll have to run to get there."

"Anna..."

"Aww, come on now Elsa! You know I'd never do that. At least not with you in the car."

Elsa didn't know if she should chide Anna more than she already had or thank her for the...rather odd compliment. She decided on a simple yet cautious "Okay." and fell silent, completely contempt with watching the road with Anna.

"I mean I'll probably run like _one _red light."

"Dammit, Anna!"

Anna's only response was to laugh at her friend's exasperation with her. Soon they found themselves in front of Hans' house. He had been leaning on his front door waiting for them and walked up to greet them as they parked.

Hans smiled as he saw Elsa walk towards him, "You're late."

"A Queen is never late..." Elsa said as she went to kiss Hans.

"...everyone else is just early."

From behind her, Elsa heard Anna scoff jokingly. She knew she wasn't acting like her usual self but she honestly didn't care much. She wanted to get away from being her usual self, break free from the demon inside of her at least for one day. She wanted to be happy. It was her birthday today and she was going to make sure that nothing would ruin it.

**One Day Later**

Anna and Elsa both stood in front of the door to their room. It was old and faded and the number eight on the door had been scratched off in certain areas.

"Well, time to see just how great our room looks. Judging by the looks of this place, let's just say I'm not exactly holding my breath."

Elsa didn't respond, instead she waited for Anna to put the key in the lock and see just how bad their room really looked.

As Anna opened the door they were greeted with their first look at the room and it was...surprisingly well kept. Although the exterior looked old, dirty and broken down, the rooms were anything but. The bed sheets were clean and folded neatly, the floor didn't have a single piece of trash, the walls weren't stained or cracked. In all honestly, the room looked great.

"Well this is a nice surprise." Anna exclaimed.

Elsa nodded as she set the briefcase down on a table that was also surprisingly clean, "I'm just going to go use the bathroom alright?"

Anna lifted the suitcase up and set it on the bed, "Okay. I'll just be out here waiting."

Elsa opened the door to the bathroom and was, once again, greeted by its surprising cleanliness. Everything was cleaned thoroughly and the place looked practically spotless. Elsa closed the door behind her. She didn't actually need to use the bathroom, she just needed an excuse to clear her head and think clearly about what had just happened only a few hours ago. She went to the sink and splashed water onto her face, trying to clear her mind and figure out what exactly happened. Soon, the memories of what happened started to come back to her.

**Two Hours Ago**

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Elsa smiled as she blew out the candles on her cake, behind her Anna and Hans applauded. Everything was perfect and the only thing Elsa wished for as she blew out the candles was for everything to remain the way it was right now. She was happy, she didn't need to worry, and she had the two people that she cared about the most right next to her. Hans had draped his arm around her, his breath smelled of the alcohol that he had been drinking since the party started.

"So what'd you wish for?" Hans asked with a slur in his voice.

"I can't tell you or else it won't come true."

"Come on, Elsa! You can tell me! It'll be our secret!"

Anna finally parted couple, one hand on Elsa's shoulder and the other on Hans' chest, "Alright, come on now! Let's eat some cake!"

"Yes! Let's go eat some cake! I'll go get the knife!" Hans made an attempt to move from where he was standing to go to the kitchen but Elsa stood up and stop him.

"No no, you stay here. I don't exactly trust you with a knife."

Hans sighed, the alcohol on his breath gave off a very strong smell, "Fiiiiiiiiiiiiine..."

Elsa walked to the kitchen in order to get the knife. She had never seen Hans drunk before and...well it could have been worst. He could've been one of those aggressive drunk which would have been an incredible red flag but thankfully he wasn't. He was acting fairly obnoxious but Elsa could live with obnoxious. Honestly she found it kind of funny. When she returned from the kitchen with the knife she found Anna trying to restrain Hans, who had his hands stretched out towards the cake and mumbling something how he couldn't wait any longer and the the cake looked soooooo good. Elsa laughed at this entertaining sight.

"Alright break it up you too." Elsa said jokingly.

"Oh thank god you're finally back. Here, help me restrain your boyfriend."

Elsa handed Anna the knife and took over the job of dealing with Hans. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and told Hans to sit down. Hans reluctantly agreed. Anna soon cut the cake and they proceeded to eat. Pretty soon half of the cake was gone.

"I'm impressed. Hans where did you get this cake?" Elsa asked.

"You thought I bought this cake! Wow, that's some praise! Nah, I cooked this earlier today!"

Both Anna and Elsa were amazed to hear this, their jaws dropping at this revelation.

"You...you made this?"

Hans smiled at Elsa, "Of course I did! Spent all day making it too, but it was totally worth it just to see the look on your face!"

Elsa was still shocked, she never knew Hans could cook. Well she did, that was pretty apparent from the delicious meal they had eaten beforehand, but she never knew he could _bake. _And so well too.

Elsa continued to stare at Hans until he burst out into a fit of laughter, "I'm just messing with you! I bought this cake from the store a few hours ago."

Elsa punched Hans repeatedly as hard as she could on his shoulder, "Why would you trick me like that?!"

Hans continued to laugh, "It's like I said! I wanted to see the look on your face!"

Elsa's face was beet red, from the corner of her eye she could see Anna trying to stifle a laugh as well. She tried to regain her composure and collect as much dignity as she had left. She sat up on her chair, "_Ahem. _That was a very mean joke."

Hans tried to stop laughing, "Oh come on now, Elsa. Lighten up! Although you're pretty cute when you're this high strung."

Without missing a beat Elsa replied, "I will not 'lighten up' until you apologize."

Hans looke at Elsa, who was trying her hardest to look stern and stubborn, "Alright! I apologize for being funny!"

"That's not what I meant...but thank you."

"Fine, just to make it up to you I'll be right back. I need to go to your present."

Elsa finally lightened up and leaned forward to give Hans a kiss, "Hurry back."

Once Hans went upstairs Anna finally found time to talk, "So...Drunk Hans is quite an...experience."

"Oh come on, you barely know the guy! I'm sorry that this is the most time you've ever spent around him but I'm telling you he's usually never like this."

Anna sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry I barely know the guy. I'm sure there's something that you see in the guy or else you wouldn't tell him you love him."

"There is. He's amazing, kind, understanding and he's just...perfect. And he's helped me a lot with keeping me, you know, in control. But there's just one thing I don't understand."

Anna scooted closer to Elsa, "Really? What's that?"

"Well whenever I have one of my...episodes he's able to calm me down. But the ice doesn't go away."

"What?"

"The ice...it doesn't go away whenever I'm with him. The only time it ever goes away is when...when I'm with you."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"The only time the ice actually retreats is when I'm with you. I don't know why but it just does."

"That's...interesting."

It was interesting. She had stopped thinking about this months ago but now that it was out in the open she began to think more about it. She loved Hans. She thought that the reason he was able to calm her down was because she loved him. But the ice never went away. The ice went away when she was with Anna though. What did _that _ mean exactly?

"Yes, it's very interesting. I'm not sure why it's different with you. I mean I love Hans but...the ice never thaws when I'm near him. Maybe...maybe it means..."

Elsa had a thought that she had never had before. Did...did she _love _Anna more than she did Hans?

Without knowing it, Elsa had gotten incredibly close to Anna. So much so that Anna actually had to pull back, a light blush coating her cheeks.

"Err, uhh...gee Hans is sure taking a long time. I'm gonna go see what's keeping him." Anna stammered. She rushed out of her chair and made her way up the stairs.

Elsa sat back in her chair. She felt bad for freaking out her best friend, but why was she so close to her in the first place? She thought back to what she had been thinking about before. _Did _she love Anna more than Hans? More importantly did she love Anna? Well of course she did. Anna was her best friend in the whole world. But did she love her in, well, _that _way? This should have been an easy question for her to answer. She should have easily have been able to say no, that she loved Hans and that Anna would be her best friend but she would never feel that way about her. But if she said that it would be a lie. She wasn't going to deny that there was something between her and Anna. But was it love?

"_**Tssk tssk Elsa. Why must you be so selfish? You want both Anna and Hans to yourself?! How could Anna ever love you, anyway?! You're her best friend and nothing more! Look at how quickly she retreated when you got too close to her. Let's face it, she hates you now!"**_

This time, the feeling was different. There was only a slight ringing and she could still see. Her heart rate had only slightly gone up and her breathing was fine. But still why was she here?

Elsa clutched her head and closed her eyes as tightly as possible, "Why are you doing this? Why now? Please, let me have this."

"_**Oh come on, you know how this works. I come and go whenever I please. You may be able to stop me from sticking around for long but you'll never be able to stop me entirely."**_

"I just...I just wanted to be happy. Just for one day. Just once!"

"_**Yes but you see, you haven't proven why you should be happy. You're still a mess, one good day won't change that. You may have found two people who understand what you're going through but who's to say they'll be around forever. You just tried to make a move on your best friend, you don't think she'll question why she's still friends with you after that?"**_

Elsa struggled out of her seat and made her way to the stairs. She needed help. She needed...she needed...she wasn't sure who she would ask for help when she got up there. She just knew she needed their help. She stumbled her way up her stairs and looked around in a panic, if they were anywhere they would probably be in Hans' room. She raced to the door and opened it. Before she could open her mouth to ask for help she was stunned silent at what she saw.

Right in front of her, illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window, were Anna and Hans. Anna was propped up against the wall, Hans had gripped onto her arms, and they were kissing.

"Anna..."

Upon hearing her name being called, Anna looked over to where Elsa was standing. She pushed Hans off of her and tried her hardest to calm Elsa.

"Elsa, wait, it's...it's not what it looks like, okay? You have to believe me it's no-"

"What is going on here? I don't...I don't understa-"

Elsa's legs suddenly gave way, she fell onto her knees and soon the side effects started to take place once again. Soon she wasn't able to see or hear and her heart started pounding.

"_**What did I tell you Elsa?! You can try and try to live a normal life! You can try to surround yourself with people who you think love you but in the end it won't matter! They'll leave you, they'll betray you and soon you'll find yourself alone once again. Just like you should be."**_

"_Please! Please! Just...go away!"_

Ice had quickly started to form all around the room and what seemed like a dark blizzard started to take shape around them.

"Elsa! Elsa, you have to calm down! Please!"

"I said go away!"

Elsa swiped her arms to the right, inadvertently knocking Anna onto a bed with an strong, black, icy gust of wind, knocking her unconsciousness. Ice spikes had quickly started to form around the room, managing to damage most of the room.

"Elsa! Listen to Anna! You need to calm down! You need to-"

Hans was suddenly silenced as he was impaled by spikes and set up against the wall behind him. He began to cough up blood and tried as hard as he could to pull the spikes off of him but to no avail. After a minute of struggling his body finally went limp. Elsa sat there on his knees, blind to the carnage that she inadvertently caused. The storm kept swirling around them.

**Two Hours Later**

Elsa brought her head up from the sink and wiped her face. Her head was finally cleared. She remembered everything. Well, almost everything. There was one thing she still didn't understand: Why was Hans kissing Anna? And why did Anna let him? She placed her hands on the sink and looked at the mirror in front of her. She sighed. This question was nagging her and she needed to ask Anna why, but she didn't know if she was in any condition to think about the events that transpired tonight.

"_**Rough night?"**_

Elsa looked around, not expecting to see anyone but was surprised when she did. To her right stood a woman who looked exactly like her, except she wore a black dress that Elsa hadn't worn in six months.

"What are you doing here?"

The other Elsa began to walk towards her, _**"Now now Elsa is that any way to treat an old friend?"**_

Elsa sneered, "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

She was now face to face with her doppelganger, her eyes piercing the soulless deep pools of black that belonged to this more evil version of her.

"_**Like it or not, Elsa I am now the only person you have left that's on your side. Sure Anna is here but for how lo-"**_

Her sentence was cut short as Elsa delivered a fierce slap across her face, knocking her over.

"Shut up! Just shut up! For months now you've caused me nothing but pain and misery! All I want is for my life back! I never wanted you anywhere near my life so just leave me the fuck alone!"

Elsa had finally snapped. She had put up with enough of this monster's antics. For months she had made her life miserable and she had finally had enough. The monster had gotten up off the floor, rubbing a sore cheek and looked at Elsa with such ferocious anger.

"_**You think you know what real pain, real misery, is like?! You think I can't make your life any worse than it actually is?! Well you are gravely mistaken! Have you completely forgotten that you are my bitch now?! I will show you what true misery is!"**_

She forcefully grabbed Elsa's arm and black ice soon started to consume it, "What are you doing to me?!"

"_**I've been holding back on punishing you this severely for so long. Now you must learn to control this power just like I have. Let's see how you can handle the burden of everything you touch turning to ice! And this time...this time your precious Anna won't be able to save you."**_

And with that the monster forcefully pushed Elsa to the ground. Once her hand made contact with the floor black ice had started to form. She quickly took her hand off the floor and clutched them close to her chest. She heard knocking coming from the other side of the door.

"Elsa! Elsa, are you okay? I heard shouting and I just...I need to know if you're okay in there."

The other Elsa was close to the door and a devilish grin spread across her face as she gripped the doorknob.

"_**Well I guess I should tell her you're just fine, shouldn't I?"**_

"No! Don't!" Elsa exclaimed desperately.

Completely ignoring Elsa's pleas of desperation, the monster turned the knob and opened the door.


	7. Chapter 7

"No! Don't!" Elsa exclaimed desperately.

Elsa picked herself up from the floor and suddenly time had slowed to a halt. She tried as hard as she could to run to the door, to stop her clone from opening it and making contact with Anna, but it was to no avail. The door opened and there stood Anna, hand outstretched and ready to knock again.

Anna stared at who she assumed was her friend who had now donned a gorgeous black dress and a blush had formed on her cheeks, "Woah Elsa you look...different. When did you change into that dress? You look amazing. I mean the dress! The dress looks amazing! It's just..I'm sorry if I was bothering you I just heard screaming and I just wanted to, uh...check on you. I didn't think you were changing or anything but still when did you find the time to get that dress? And...and I'm rambling again. "

The other Elsa grinned, _**"You must be Anna."**_

Elsa, who had been stunned silent and was frozen in fear at what would happen when the door opened, finally snapped out of her trance at Anna's words. She ran to her clone's side and grabbed on to the door frame and opened her mouth to say something, anything to try and help Anna make sense of the situation, but nothing came out. In a matter of seconds black ice had started to spread around the door frame and Elsa quickly brought her hand up, stopping the growth.

Anna was now more confused than ever, "Elsa, what? But...how...who is...what...why are there-"

Suddenly everything started to click for Anna. She finally understood why there were two Elsas standing right in front of her and, in a sudden burst of anger, gripped onto the other Elsa's arm as tightly as possible.

"It's you! You're that...that _bitch _who's been torturing Elsa for months! Why are you doing this?! Why are you here?! What have you done to her?!"

The grin on the more demonic Elsa quickly subsided as she looked down at Anna's hand, she slowly looked back up and into Anna's face as she slowly spoke, _**"Unless you want to be turned into a permanent ice sculpture I suggest you let go of my arm this instance."**_

Elsa had retreated back to lean onto the sink, hands clutched tightly to her chest, "No please! Don't hurt her!"

Anna looked at Elsa, her Elsa, the one she had known for years, cowering in pain and fear. The sneer that had been on her face slowly softened and she reluctantly let go of the other Elsa's arm.

"_**That's better."**_

And in the blink of an eye, the back of the demon's hand had found its way across Anna's cheek, knocking her to the floor.

"Anna!" Elsa cried out, she pushed her way past her other self and knelt on the floor next to Anna. She was terrified, not knowing what kind of damage had been done. "Are you okay?!"

Anna sat on the floor rubbing her cheek as Elsa hovered over her, worried. "I'm alright, Elsa. I'm fine. It just...stings a little."

The demon slowly walked over towards them, _**"Now that I've got your attention I should probably bring your disrespectful little girlfriend here up to speed." **_

She knelt down on one leg next to Anna and Elsa, the grin she had worn before had finally returned. She looked at Elsa, _**"Although once I do tell her you will probably be left to be a lonely mess. Then again she's already proven that she doesn't give a damn about you anymore."**_

Anna, still rubbing her cheek, shot a scornful look at the clone, "What the hell are you talking about? I would never _ever _leave Elsa's side."

The other Elsa got up as she let out a scoff at Anna's words, _**"Oh really now? Well then why don't you explain to Elsa why exactly you were making with her boyfriend? Well...ex-boyfriend."**_

Elsa looked at Anna, she too wanted to know why she had kissed Hans, as much as she wanted to trust Anna she needed to know why she would just betray her trust like that.

Anna sighed, "When I got to his room he was busy fumbling around looking for whatever your gift was. He was holding a bottle that I just assumed he had kept in his room. When I entered the room he was so drunk he thought I was you. He kept telling me he was sorry that he couldn't find your gift and that he had been looking everywhere for it. He said that he would make it up to you and he started to...make a move on me. I tried to fight him off but he was able to pin me against a wall and then he kissed me. A couple seconds later you walked in and...well you know the rest."

Elsa looked at her friend who had an apologetic and guilty look on her face, "Anna I...this whole time...I felt so betrayed. I'm so sorry."

"No, you don't have to be sorry. None of this was your fault. All of this has just been a bad situation that just got worse and worse and-"

"_**I hate to break up such a beautiful moment but I think it's time I continue where I left off."**_

Anna scowled at her but it barely seemed to phase the other Elsa.

"_**Now where was I? Oh yes. You wanted to know what I did to her exactly. See it all started six months ago I believe, I found her in a state of helplessness and I decided to help her out by giving her this great power of mine. I felt like it was a good tradeoff. She had nothing, her parents were dead and she was alone in this world I just decided to...throw her a bone if you will. In exchange for this wonderful power I could take shelter inside of her."**_

"That doesn't explain why you've caused her so much pain and misery this whole time."

"_**I was just about to get to that before you rudely interrupted me. You see I can only...well let's just say express myself when Elsa is at her lowest. Of course that won't happen all the time so sometimes I give her a gentle push in the right direction. After all she can't have all that fun now can she? But then things changed. Elsa decided she wasn't grateful for these newfound powers that I was kind enough to control for her. So I decided to punish her. Now she will know true pain. Now she will true suffering."**_

Anna was curious and was slightly taken aback at her words, "What...what do you mean?"

The other Elsa simply laughed, _**"Aren't you wondering why she's afraid to touch you right now? Why her hands are clutched to her chest and why she looks so scared right now?"**_

Elsa clutched her hands even tighter now, she tried to find something to say to Anna in order to explain this situation but for some reason she just couldn't.

"Elsa, are you okay? What-" Anna reached out to touch Elsa but failed. Elsa hurriedly retreated away from her.

"No! Don't touch me! Please I...I don't want to hurt you."

"Elsa wha..." Anna slowly got up off the floor and shot a glare at the demon, "What did you do to her exactly?!"

"_**I did what had to be done. I gave her the power to create more of this beautiful ice. But I never exactly gave her the means to control it. That will be something that she will just to have to learn on her own."**_

Elsa scooted back even more until her back hit a wall but she had made the mistake of grabbing at the wall behind her and black ice had quickly formed on the wall. She quickly brought her hand back to her chest.

Anna looked back at the ice and then down at her friend, "Elsa! Are you alright?!"

Elsa couldn't say anything. Although she had said something beforehand words escaped her now. The reality of her situation had finally caught up with her and had left her speechless. She was stuck with this curse for what seemed like forever. Now it would be much harder to conceal this unfortunate power, she would have to learn to control it or cause pain towards others and chaos all around her. She didn't know if she could live with this. All she could do as a reply was nod weakly at Anna.

"_**And on that note I feel that it is time I bid you farewell. It's been fun getting to meet you Anna. You're just perfect for each other."**_

The clone turned around and made for the door to the room. As she did so not only had ice formed at her every step but she also began to disintegrate into black frost. Anna tried to call out to her but it was too late. Before she made it to the door handle she had completely disappeared, the only trace of evidence that she was there was the ice trail she had left behind.

After a few moments Anna finally turned around to look at her best friend once again. She quickly went back to her side and knelt down next to her.

"Elsa? Elsa it's going to be okay, alright? I'm right here." she tried to touch Elsa once again but once again she just pulled back. Anna pulled her hand back as well but only for a few brief seconds before she quickly engulfed Elsa in a warm hug before she could protest.

"See Elsa? I'm not afraid. You're not hurting me. I know you, you would never hurt me."

Tears started to form in Elsa's eyes. She wanted to hug Anna back but she just couldn't, "Anna, I...I can't. I don't want to touch you. I might-"

"Shh...it's alright Elsa." Anna said as she continued to hold her. After a bit of time Anna pulled back, hands still on Elsa's arms and she had a pondering look on her face. Suddenly it lit up and she got up from the floor.

"I just remembered I think I packed something that _might _ help you out. I just hope I brought the right suitcase out of the car."

Elsa wiped the tears from her eyes and watched Anna as she ruffled through the suitcase looking for...whatever it was she was looking for.

After a couple minutes Anna finally cried out, "Haha! Thank goodness!" She rushed over to Elsa and presented a pair of gloves to her. They were long and a shade of light blue. They were the most beautiful things Elsa had ever seen. She had never seen these before and so she assumed that they had belonged to her Mother. Slowly, she took the gloves from Anna's hands, being careful not to touch her hands and slipped them on. They fit perfectly.

"Well? Why don't you test them out and see if the gloves will help?"

"Test them...on what?"

"I don't know anything I guess. Just...touch something."

Elsa looked around the room and finally settled on the floor. It was the closest thing to her and if she was able to touch the floor then she could finally get up without ease. Slowly she reached out to touch the floor with her fingertips, her heart raced as her hand got closer and closer and then...she touched it. And nothing happened. Taking this as a good sign she slowly sank the rest of her hand on the floor, helping herself up. One she got up she looked at her hands and smiled, maybe she couldn't control it but she finally had a way to conceal it. This was a good sign.

She looked up at Anna who was smiling at her, "See? What did I tell you? I told you Elsa, you would never hurt anyone."

Elsa gave a smile full of joy and relief and rushed over to Anna, returning the hug she had given her a few minutes ago.

"Thank you, Anna. Thank you for always believing in me. Thank you for always trusting me. Thank you...for fighting for me."

Anna returned the hug as hard as tightly as she could, "No need to thank me Elsa. After all what are best friends for?"

Both girls stood there in each others arms not saying a word. Elsa still couldn't shake this feeling she had. Anna was wrong about one thing, she _did _hurt someone. Hans. The man she loved. She did more than hurt him. Maybe she wasn't in the right state of mind when she had caused the storm in his room and maybe she didn't physically kill him but that didn't matter. These powers were as much a part of her as they were her clone's. Just cause she finally had the ability to use them at any time didn't make the incident any less her fault. This all would have been avoided if she had just learned to control herself. Now she had no excuse not to learn. She needed to control this power. This curse. She needed to show the monster that she would be a slave to this curse.

She needed to fight back.

**A/N: Sorry guys, this one's a bit on the short side. I just felt like if I kept going with this chapter and continued where I wanted it to continue then it would just ruin this moment that I created. Not like it's that good of a moment but still. Just be patient with me alright? Still kinda getting used to this whole "writing fanfiction" thing. Also, I'd like to thank anyone who read my one-shot (that's what they're called right?) "Anna's Hero". I actually put effort in that. Hope it showed.**


	8. Chapter 8

Elsa's eyes opened rather abruptly. She stared up at the ceiling hotel room which was bare except for the ceiling fan slowly osculating above her and Anna. It was then that Elsa realized she felt a warm weight across her, its breathing synced with hers. She looked down and noticed Anna sleeping soundly on the bottom of her chest, near her stomach. She felt her drool on her shirt and her hair was everywhere, some of it had inched near her face. Elsa blushed, they've hugged many times before but this was the closest she had ever felt to Anna. She looked away as she realized how long she had been staring at Anna, it didn't feel right looking at her best friend like this. It felt too...intimate. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't keep her eyes off her. She knew the best way to keep herself from looking was to pull herself away from Anna but she wouldn't dare disturb her slumber. So she stayed where she was and tried to distract herself by thinking about something else...anything else. She brought her hand up to her face, the one not being covered by Anna's sleeping figure. The gloves had stayed on perfectly through the night.

Elsa frowned, she knew she had to find a way to control her power. She didn't want to keep the gloves on forever but for now they felt nice. Like a safety net. But how would she go about learning to control it anyway? Would she just touch random things and hope for the ice to stop spreading? No, that sounded stupid. But it was the only thing she could think of. This was something she needed to ask Anna when she woke up. Which would hopefully be soon.

She looked around the room until her eyes landed on the briefcase which sat on the table of their hotel room. She had been so emotionally drained last night that she had decided to just go to sleep, completely forgetting that she was supposed to open it last night. What was in it? Why was her name on the briefcase? She needed to open it today. In fact she needed to open it right now. But she couldn't. Anna was still asleep. Or was she?

She finally felt the body on top of her stir and move around. Anna brought her hand up to touch what she assumed was the pillow and was surprised to find that the apparent pillow was warm and...squishy?

Elsa heard a gasp and felt Anna shoot up from her stomach.

"Elsa?! Oh my god I am so sorry! I...I didn't know it was your...oh my god I am so embarrassed right now. I just...I'm sorry for touching you so...inappropriately like that. I thought you were a pillow although I have to admit you make a really good pillow though and- why am I saying this?! Argh!"

Elsa chuckled, "It's fine Anna really. I didn't notice at all."

"Oh, uh...well okay then." Anna looked at her, puzzled. "Wait, how long have you been awake?"

Elsa blushed, "I, uh...I just woke up! Just like you! Yeah, we woke up at the same time! Isn't that a coincidence?"

Anna pouted, "You don't look like you just woke up."

"Well that's because, I...uh..." Elsa stammered.

Anna's pout stayed, her eyebrows scrunched up as she stared at Elsa.

Defeated, Elsa finally sighed "Alright I've been up for awhile, okay? I just...I didn't want to disturb you."

"What? Why?"

"Because..." Elsa didn't quite know how to finish that sentence. Or maybe she did but she just didn't want to admit it to herself. She looked around to try and get away from Anna's gaze and her eyes fixated on the briefcase once again.

"The briefcase!"

Anna was taken aback at this sudden outburst "Wait what?"

"We forgot to open it last night! We should...we should open it right now!"

"Oh, umm...okay."

Elsa hurriedly got up from the bed and went to grab the briefcase. She got back on the bed and sat opposite of Anna who was still reeling from the sudden subject change.

"You ready?" Elsa asked her.

"Umm...sure I guess."

She turned the briefcase so that the locks were facing her and she lifted them up. Her name was staring her right in her face. Elsa took a deep breath and exhaled and, finally, opened the briefcase.

Inside the briefcase were neatly folded papers that lined the inside which made no sense to Elsa. Among these stacks of papers were blurry black-and-white pictures of people she didn't know. All in all she was utterly confused at everything she saw inside the briefcase. Everything except for an envelope that was addressed to her. She grabbed the envelope and, without hesitation, opened it immediately.

It was a letter from her Dad.

_Dear Elsa, _

_If you're reading this then I fear the worst for your mother and I. You know fairly well that we know about your condition and that we've been working very hard to help you with it. What you don't know is how hard we've truly been working. Since you were a little girl your mother and I have been working hard with two of our closest who are incredibly interested in researching and helping others who are going through the same problems you are. We're trying to show them that they don't have to be afraid of the beautiful powers that they have. Our research has been incredibly beneficial and I wish we would have told you about this. But we felt that we needed to keep you in the dark about this kind of stuff. Now I see that I was wrong. We should have told you so that you knew you weren't alone. That you had someone fighting for you, someone helping you. We should have showed you that we were doing the best we could. But if you're reading this I feel like it's too late for me to say that. Just know that your Mother and I loved you very much and we wished we would have been there more for you. I've attached the information to a Dr. Oaken. It's imperative that the research in this briefcase gets to him as soon as possible. I love you Elsa. I can't say that enough. I truly believe that you can control this power, that you can fight back. I believe in you. You are stronger than this, Elsa._

Elsa put down the letter. The tears that had started to form in her eyes had dripped onto the paper and she quickly wiped them away. She neatly folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. Inside the envelope she found a card showing the address and the phone number of Dr. Oaken.

Anna stared at Elsa, tears still forming in her eyes. She had not read the letter alongside Elsa and was curious as to why she was crying.

"What, what is it? What did the letter say?"

Elsa answered with a shaky voice but also with a smile on her face, "It's...it's from my Dad. It says they had been working on finding a way to help me with...my powers. It says I'm not alone."

Anna smiled back at that news, "Elsa, that's amazing! But what's that?" She gestured towards the card in Elsa's hand.

"It's an address to a Dr. Oaken, apparently he had been working alongside my parents and my Dad wants me to bring this briefcase to him."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?! Let's go meet the guy!"

Elsa wiped more tears from her eyes and nodded. Learning how to control her powers could wait. If this Dr. Oaken knew anything about her condition then this visit was going to take top priority. Both girls got themselves ready and packed up. They brought the key back to the lady at the front desk and made their way to Anna's car. The address, luckily, was on a street they knew fairly well and it would probably take about twenty minutes to get there.

Anna noticed Elsa tugging on her gloved hands, "How are they? The gloves, I mean."

Elsa clutched one of her hands, "Oh, umm..they're fine. Great, actually. They help a lot."

"Oh, thank goodness." Anna smiled, but that smile slowly faded away as she looked back on the road, "You know you can't rely on them forever."

Elsa sighed, "I know. I need to find a way to control it but I just...I don't know how. How am I supposed to train for something like this?!"

Anna pondered this question, "Hmm...ooh I've got one!"

"Really?! What?!"

"Well...why don't you just try touching random things and see if you can control the ice from spreading?"

Elsa's face dropped from the excited look she had for a split second and sighed once again, "That's...that's what I was thinking. But that just sounds stupid. I thought you would have a better way of helping me control it."

"Dammit, well I'm sure we'll think of something. For now lets just, you know, focus on getting to Dr. Oaken."

Elsa nodded. She said to herself that this visit took top priority and she meant it. Soon, they had finally gotten to their destination. Surprisingly they hadn't found their way to a laboratory, or a large office building or anything. No, they found themselves in front a large, white two-story house. It was in the suburbs and not in some place far away from any civilization and, all in all, it looked fairly normal.

"Well this looks...unexpected." Anna said as she got out of her car.

"Yeah, it does."

They made their way to the front door as Elsa spoke once again, "Anna, just let me do the talking okay? Chances are he probably knows who I am and he'll recognize me right away. I can't say the same about you." 

"I understand Elsa."

There they stood in front of the door, Elsa stretched out her hand to knock but she hesitated.

"Just knock, Elsa. It's okay."

"I...I don't know what I'll say when he opens it. How am I supposed to explain everything that's happened, why I'm really here?"

"Just start slow. Tell him who you are and then just go from there."

Elsa took a deep breath, "Alright then, here goes nothing." She knocked on the door.

After a minute or so had passed the door finally opened revealing a tall, well built man in a white coat. His smile was exquisite as he looked down at the two girls, but it quickly faded as he saw Elsa.

"Dr. Oaken? My name is-"

"Yes yes yes, I know who you are, Elsa. Now both of you come inside, quickly."

She gestured to the girls to hurry inside and then locked the door as she did.

"Please, come with me."

As he led them to wherever they were going Elsa took the time to admire the house she was in. The color of the exterior matched with the color of the interior. The white walls were surrounded with paintings and picture frames that mostly contained pictures of Dr. Oaken, her parents and someone else that Elsa couldn't quite make out. The mysterious man was tall and fit, he had a white lab coat on as well and he had thick, curly blond hair that matched the stubble on his face.

Dr. Oaken led them to a large room in the back of the house that completely contrasted from everything around her. The white walls were lined with monitors, random numbers and images of people she didn't know flashed across the screen. Tables were set up across the walls that had beakers and test tubes and an abundance of science equipment. In the center of the room was a large table with papers scattered all around. Dr. Oaken turned around to look at the two girls and walked in front of Elsa, he gently grabbed ahold of Elsa's arms.

"Let me get a good look at you. Oh it's been so long! Last time I saw you you were so little and scared. You used to clutch on your mother's leg whenever she used to bring you here and-"

His face suddenly dropped as he realized what he just said, "I...I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought up your mother like that."

"You don't have to apologize, I'm fine really. Actually the reason I'm here is because of my parents."

Elsa raised the briefcase up to show Dr. Oaken and his face went from solemn to understanding. He grabbed the briefcase from Elsa and brought it to the center table. He opened it and started to leaf through the papers, "I see. You did the right thing coming here. This is very valuable information and I'm glad that you brought it here."

'You're welcome. But that's not the whole reason that we're here. You see-"

Dr. Oaken looked up from the briefcase, "Ahh yes! I feel like I have an idea why you're here. You see I'm sure you already know that I know about your gift."

Elsa winced at the word "gift". This was anything but a gift.

"And I'm judging by the way you're wearing your Mother's gloves that you don't exactly have it under control."

Elsa clutched her gloved hands as Dr. Oaken walked back towards them, "How did you-"

He towered in front of her, hands pressed together as he smiled calmly down at Elsa, "And you want me to help you."

Elsa blinked rapidly and she felt as if she was at a loss for words until she cleared her throat and stammered out, "Tha-that's right! How were you able to...I mean, can you-will you be able to umm...help me?"

Dr. Oaken gave a light chuckle, "Of course I can." His warm smile suddenly faded away, replaced by a solemn, stern face. "But I'm afraid I need to tell you something first. Something about your powers."

Elsa clutched her hands even tighter, "What do you mean?"

He turned back around and made his way back to the open briefcase, "Elsa...I'm afraid you're in grave danger."

**A/N Once again I wanna thank everyone that's read this fanfic so far. I finally reached 1,000 views! Yay! That's an accomplishment right? Anyway sorry to cut this chapter short _again _but I felt like ending it here because, you know, cliffhanger! Yay! Once again, thanks for reading and I'll make sure to be more on top of updating.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Once again I'd like to take the time to say thank you to everyone that reads this fic. It's a lot of fun...wait no fun isn't the right word. Especially when you guys read this chapter. It's a nice, no not nice...It's an experience okay?! I like writing it. Anyway, in case it hasn't dawned on you yet _I have posted Chapters 9 and 10 simultaneously. _I'm going on vacation in California for a week so I won't have time to write so I figure, you know, post two chapters to cover my ass. Anyway, enjoy. Wait no enjoy isn't the right word...**

Elsa sat in Dr. Oaken's kitchen with a cup of tea in front of her.

"Would you like some as well, Anna?" Dr. Oaken asked with a warm smile.

"Oh! Umm, sure, I mean yes, I mean...how do you know who I am?" Anna stammered out.

He chuckled as he went to grab another mug, "Well like I said I've known Elsa's parents for a very long time. They told me everything about Elsa and during more than a few of our conversations your name was brought up."

Anna blushed, "Really?! What, uh...what did they say about me exactly."

"Oh nothing bad, mind you. No they talked a lot about how you and Elsa were practically inseparable. Like you were just two halves of a whole. They showed me pictures of the two of you always laughing and playing. Oh the both of you were so adorable when you were children!"

Anna's blush became even more apparent, "Wow, they really said that about me? That's just, _ahem_ I mean that's...wow."

Dr. Oaken came back to the table and sat down, handing a mug to Anna.

Elsa had been staring into her mug this whole time and finally looked back up when Oaken sat, "I'm sorry to interrupt but I believe you were saying something about me being in grave danger."

Oaken took a sip from his mug, "Ahh yes, sorry about that. I feel that tea really helps to clear the head and calm the nerves. I don't know if there's any truth to that but that's how I feel."

"Dr. Oaken please if you could just...tell me what's going on here."

He nodded, "I'm afraid what I'm about to say is strictly based on observation rather than concrete evidence."

"If that's all you have then it's okay. I just need to know what you mean."

Dr. Oaken took another sip, "This all started a few weeks after one of our colleagues. I think you saw his picture while we were walking. The man with the blond hair?"

"Yes yes...I saw him. His picture, I mean."

"Well a few weeks after his death your parents and I noticed that one of the people we had been watching over had just disappeared. He was a boy named Jack. Very nice boy and he had powers just like you."

"Really?"

"Yes! Except where your powers come mostly from your hands, his came from this crooked wooden staff he always carried with him. It was very fascinating. Then again you are all very fascinating in your own way."

Anna finally spoke up, "What...what happened to him?"

He looked down solemnly at his mug and sighed, "I'm afraid we found him a few days afterwards. Dead."

Elsa clutched the mug in her hands and gasped along with Anna. Had she not been wearing her gloves she was sure she would've froze the entire table by now.

"Dead?! How?!" Elsa asked.

"This may be hard for you to hear so if you don't want me to go into detail then I don't have to."

"No! No. I...I have to know. I need to know what kind of sick person I'm up against."

"Are you sure?"

Elsa clutched the mug even harder, "Yes...yes I am."

Dr. Oaken sighed, "We found him, or at least parts of him, stored inside of a freezer."

Anna gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"His staff was nowhere to be found. We felt that the way he was murdered was too coincidental to be anything other than some sick, _sick_ joke."

Anna looked over at Elsa who was just as terrified as she was. But there was something different about Elsa. Through that face of terror there was a glint of anger, rage even.

Elsa felt it physically impossible to clutch the mug even harder than she already was but she did, "Who would do something like that?!"

"That's not all. In the weeks to come more and more of the people were supposed to be watching kept disappearing. Dying in ways that were too convenient to be done by a regular serial killer. In fact the killings didn't stop until after your parent's funeral."

"Are you saying..."

"Yes, Elsa. I believe your parents' deaths were no accident. Whoever has been killing these people may have also killed your parents."

The sound of those words rang in her ears and she stormed out of her chair, "WHO IS THIS BASTARD?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?!"

Anna brought her hand up and grabbed her arm, "Elsa, please! Calm down!"

"NO, ANNA! I HAVE TO KNOW!" Elsa leaned in across the table towards Dr. Oaken, "Who. Killed. My Parents?!"

Dr. Oaken said nothing and instead took another sip, "Elsa, I need you to listen to me. Before I tell you who I believe it to be you must hear me out."

"I'm listening!"

That means you have to sit down and calm yourself."

Elsa, who had been seething anger, tried as hard as she could to think clearly again. Finally she closed her eyes shut, opened them once more and sat back in her chair.

"There...I'm listening."

"Even if I told you you would be in no position to fight back. You can't even _control_ your powers let alone _fight _with them. If I told you who I think it is you have to promise me that you will stay here and let me help you control your powers."

Elsa still had a slightly furious glare on her face. She wouldn't answer him. She _couldn't _answer him. How could she sit by and "practice" her powers while her parents' murdered was still at large? She needed to act and she needed to act _now_!

Oaken asked once more, "Can you promise me that, Elsa?"

Elsa didn't want to say yes. She wanted Oaken to fess up _right now _so she could ice the bastard who took her parents away from him. But before she could say anything she felt a hand on her arm once again. She looked to see who it was and saw Anna with a face of compassion and worry.

"Elsa, please. Promise Dr. Oaken that you'll learn to control your powers. If not for you...then for your parents. Do what they've always dreamed of seeing you accomplish."

Elsa couldn't say no when Anna looked at her like that. And what she just said made perfect sense. If she was looking for vengeance then it wouldn't do her any good if she didn't have some sort of weapon to back herself up with.

Elsa sighed heavily and looked back at Dr. Oaken, "I promise."

He nodded, "The man who I believe did this...is our old colleague's son."

"What do you mean?"

"The son of the man who died. He's the only other person who knows about these gifted people that we look after. The way he murders them to match their powers is just sickening. And he _knew _to target your parents because they were helping these people as well. They had all the information. Just like his father and just like me. Why he hasn't gone after me yet I will never know but I feel as if you're next. Why else would he go after your parents?"

"Who is it?! What is his name?!"

Oaken took another sip before answering, "The man's name is Kristoff Bjorgman."

Kristoff looked into a cold, gray room through a one-way window. His eyes were unforgiving and vengeful as he looked at the person inside of the room.

"I searched the house."

The voice came from behind him. It was low and rough with some sort of accent that was hard to pinpoint. Russian, maybe? Kristoff never did figure out.

Without looking around Kristoff sighed, "And?"

"She wasn't there. Although I noticed that a closet and some drawers were cleared out. I think she's on the move, sir."

Kristoff pounded a fist on the glass, alerting the person inside.

"Dammit! I told you we should have gone after her earlier!"

"I apologize, sir. We should have."

"Fuck. Why didn't we go after her first?! Why didn't we go straight after her once we killed her parents, huh?! No we had to lay low...we had to make sure the case was cold before continuing."

Kristoff backed up from the window and started pacing around, "How did she know we were after?! We were so thorough. So..."

"There's something else, sir. There were police at her house."

He turned around to look the man in the eye. The man was tall, muscular. He had thick brown hair and a matching scruffy beard that completely encapsulated his entire face in brown hair. His most defining feature though was a large scar that covered his left eye.

"What do you mean there was police there?"

"When I got there there were police cars all over her house searching inside and out. They stopped me but luckily I had an entirely believable badge on me, thanks for that by the way, and was able to get into the house no problem."

"Really? No hassle at all?"

"I am very good at my job, sir. That's why you hired me."

"No, I _hired _you because I needed muscle and you look pretty goddamn intimidating. That's how this works alright? I'm the brain and you're the brawn."

The man cleared his throat, "Like I was saying. I was able to look around the house for awhile and I found nothing that could let us know where she went."

Kristoff brought a hand to his chin as if he was in deep thought. He stared intently through the mirror once again, "I think it's time we paid our good friend Dr. Oaken a visit."

"I agree. When do we head out?"

"Not yet." He looked at the man and nodded towards the person in the room, "Once we deal with her we're going to have to lay low once again. I'd hate for the trail to get cold but we can't start one job without finishing the other."

"And this is the last job correct?"

"Right. Once we get rid of the girl with the ice powers it's over. You'll be on your way and I'll be on mine. We'll be done."

"And you're sure this...Elsa is the last on the list?"

"Yes I'm sure. I've checked the list over and over again just waiting for this moment. Elsa is the last one. We take her out and we're done."

He grabbed the door handle, "But first thing's first." and opened the door.

The person on the other side of the door was terrified. Her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was covered by duct tape as well.

"Hey there! How have you been? I hope you like the place, I paid top dollar for it just so you can be as comfortable as possible. Do you like it?"

The girl was terrified and tried to say something through the duct tape but couldn't.

The fake smile on Kristoff's face stayed and he brought a hand up to cup his ear, "What's that? I can't really hear you you're gonna have to speak up."

The girl was now crying as she continued to try and speak through the tape.

Kristoff brought his hand from his ear to touch the girl's short brown hair, "You know I've heard a lot about you. The girl with the magic hair! The hair that glows when she sings!"

She brought his hand from her hair to grab her chin. He forcefully grabbed it and turned her face to look at him. Her eyes were petrified and she was confused and scared and she just wanted to leave.

He smirked, "And when you sing you have the power to heal wounds or...reverse the age process. And I find that fascinating. How much do you think someone would pay for that kind of power, hmm? See that's what I was thinking. That's why I decided to cut your hair, just to see what price it would go for."

He clutched a piece of her hair in his hands which frightened her even more. She panted through the duct tape, tears streaming down her face.

"Except when I cut your hair it shriveled away. Do you know how that makes me feel?!"

The tears came down harder and now she was full on crying.

"It's worthless now! Just like you! Just like _all of you_! You're all worthless! Freaks! Good for nothing!"

He leaned in closer and said softly, "And you are all going to pay..."

He brought a knife out and put it to her neck. She tried to struggle away but to no avail. Kristoff held her in place with one arm and kept the knife at her neck.

"Better behave...Rapunzel, is it? That's what you're called? Well you best behave or else it'll hurt even more."

Rapunzel didn't listen and continued to struggle and fight as hard as she could.

Kristoff sighed, "You see I've already cut off your hair which is only half the source of your power. Now...now we must get rid of the other source of your power."

He pressed the knife tighter on her neck as she continued to cry and fight. He forcefully grabbed the back of her neck in order to make her look at him before continuing.

"I'm going to need to take away your voice."

Kristoff forcefully dragged the blade across her throat. Blood rushed out and her eyes went wide. Once the blade went all the way through he let go of her and she fell down. Her body was limp and blood continued to pour out from her neck.

He silently walked out of the room and noticed the man leaning on one of the walls.

"What do you want me to do with the body?" he asked.

"Burn it, bury it, drown it, I honestly don't fucking care Sven. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go wash off this blood."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: If you don't already know, ahem, _I POSTED CHAPTERS 9 AND 10 SIMULTANEOUSLY. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 9 YET DON'T READ THIS ONE. _Seriously don't. Anyway, on with the fic.**

**One Week Later**

"Where did you find these anyway?" Elsa said as she stood over what looked to be an old royal orb and scepter.

Dr. Oaken chuckled, "Oh nowhere special, just this old antique shop. They were having some sort of "Big Summer Blowout" and I got them for half off."

Elsa eyed him suspiciously and he tried to assure her, "Don't worry, out of all the things you could damage in this house these would be the ones I would miss the least. Now come on, off with the gloves."

She hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath before slowly removing her gloves. With shaky hands she grabbed the orb and scepter and turned around to look at Oaken.

He smiled, "Excellent, you'd make a wonderful queen. Now just focus on controlling your powers. Focus on keeping the ice from forming."

Elsa tried to focus on nothing more than her breathing. Steady breathing would probably help her calm her mind. She looked down to notice that ice hadn't formed yet and a small smile came on her face.

"You're doing amazing right now, Elsa." she heard Anna say.

"Yes, she's made excellent progress." said Dr. Oaken.

She turned to smile at the both of them. The three of them were in Oaken's living room. Him and Anna were sitting on a couch staring up at Elsa, a table with a cushion on it behind her.

Elsa looked down at the orb and scepter and noticed black ice start to form and she panicked. She put them back on the cushion and hurriedly put on her gloves.

"I can't do this. This curse it's...I'm not strong enough to fight it." she said frightened.

Anna shot up from the couch to comfort her, "Don't say that, Elsa. You're stronger than this, you just don't see it. You just have to keep fighting!"

Dr. Oaken rose from the couch as well, "She's right, you know. You've made excellent progress from the beginning of this week. I remember when merely touching those two antiques would cause ice to form immediately. If it weren't for Anna here I'd have to keep buying more."

Elsa said nothing, she turned to look at Anna who had grabbed her arm and had a comforting smile on her face. Dr. Oaken was right, every time they tried this Anna was always there to help her and keep the ice from spreading. She looked back down at the two antiques and noticed the ice had gone away. Even so, she could see the wear and tear she was causing with her ice from all the constant training. She needed to learn how to control it and fast. Who knew when Kristoff would make his move. If Oaken was right and she was the last one left then she needed to be ready when he decided to act. With renewed vigor and motivation she looked back at Anna and nodded with a determined look on her face.

Dr. Oaken must have noticed the nod because he said, "Alright now let's head over to the backyard."

Anna smiled at her once again and held onto her as they followed him.

Without turning around Oaken said, "So I've been meaning to ask this since you first got here but how long have you been, you know, together?"

Anna pushed away startled, "Wh-what?!"

Elsa was as shocked as her and blushed, "Why, uh...why, I mean, what makes you say that?!"

Oaken turned around and looked at them quizically, "You mean...you're _not_?!"

"No!" they both said in unison.

"Oh!" Dr. Oaken said embarrassed, "I am so sorry I just assumed the way that you two look at each other and interact that-"

"We're just friends, Dr. Oaken. I assure you that." Anna added before he could continue.

He shrugged and looked rather shocked at this news, "Hmm, well that's a shame. Now follow me."

"What was that first part?" Elsa asked.

"Follow me, if you would!" was all he said before he opened a door that led to his backyard.

Both girls looked at each other and quickly looked away, their blushes incredibly apparent, and followed him out the door.

Dr. Oaken's backyard was rather large just like the rest of his house. It was incredibly well-kept, the grass was cut short and there was a large tree that towered over a corner of his backyard. A large fence covered the perimeter so you couldn't see through to the other houses. He led the girls to one part of the fence.

"Alright Elsa just like last time I want to see if you can cover this entire fence in ice."

Elsa sighed, "It didn't work the first few times I've tried to do this what makes you think it's going to work now?"

"Faith. Hope. Whatever you want to call it. I know you can do this, Elsa."

She turned around to look over at Anna but she just kept staring at the ground, unable to look Elsa in the eye. She pouted a little at this, but her reaction was completely understandable.

Elsa took a deep breath and stepped forward, away from Anna. She stared intensely at the fence in front of her and brought her right hand up. With as much force as she could muster she opened her palm and thrusted it forward.

There was silence as all three waited for something, anything, to happen. Elsa had this determined yet painful look on her face that stayed steady for ten seconds before her features dropped and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Her right arm dropped as well.

She looked over at Oaken, "I'm telling you I can't do it. I'm not strong enough...not yet."

He chuckled, "See all I heard you say was 'not yet'. A week ago you would've been adamant about not being able to do this. You never would have shown that tiny sliver of optimism. Maybe you're not giving yourself enough credit."

Elsa stared at the fence once again. He did bring up a good point, he felt slightly more optimistic about her powers than she used to. She felt as if she had gained more control over them, if only a little. She took a deep breath once again and aimed her palm at the wall and thrusted forward. Still nothing.

Maybe what she was lacking was the right motivation. The one reason above all else that she was doing this. What was it? She struck her palm out once again and grunted. Nothing happened.

What was her motivation? Another thrust. Why was she fighting? Nothing happened. What was she doing this for? One more thrust, still the same result.

Was it revenge? "Work, dammit!" No that was too petty. Was she trying to prove a point? "Son of a bitch!" What point though? And to whom?

One more thrust and still nothing. She sneered. What point was she trying to _prove_? Suddenly she remembered the words on the letter her father had left behind for her. _She needed to prove that she was stronger than this. _

Elsa grunted, the sneer still on her face as she thrusted her palm out once more. But who did she need to prove this to? Her parents? No, they already believed in her and what she could do. Kristoff? That bastard was gonna get what was coming to him but she didn't have to prove herself to him, that's stupid. Dr. Oaken? No. If he didn't believe in her then he wouldn't be helping her in the first place.

One more thrust, she felt sweat start to trickle down her face. She looked over at Anna who had finally averted her gaze from the floor. She thought for a second, what about Anna? Was she doing this for her? Her best friend. The one person who stuck it out with her through thick and thin. Did she need to prove herself to her? The answer was obvious, of course not.

One more thrust, another few seconds of disappointment. Of course she didn't have to prove herself to Anna. She wouldn't have followed her all the way down this path if she didn't believe in her in the first place.

"Come on!" she exclaimed. Then...who did she have to prove?

One more thrust and the answer came to her almost instantly. There was one last person she left out. The one person that counted the most. The real reason she needed to fight, to control her powers. The one person she needed to prove herself to the most...was herself.

One more thrust and suddenly Elsa was sent back flying across the backyard as she felt something blast out of the palm of her hand.

Anna gasped as she ran up to Elsa, who lay on the grass clutching her hand, "Elsa! Are you okay?!"

Elsa snapped out of her stupor and brought herself off the ground to look at Anna's concerned look, "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. What...was that?"

Both girls heard a chuckle from Dr. Oaken.

"Why don't you look for yourself?" he said as he pointed to the fence.

They gasped as they looked at what he was pointing. A large blast of black ice had covered a good amount of the fence Elsa had been pointing at. It lined most of the fence, covering half of it and some had even made its way onto the grass, coating the blades with a flurry of ice.

Anna practically squealed in delight, "Elsa, you did it!" She hugged her best friend as tight as she could.

Elsa stared at her palm and a big, goofy grin spread across her face, "Yeah...I did."

She finally returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Anna as tight as she could. Things could only get better from here.

Kristoff sat on top of the flat rooftop of what seemed to be a relatively small warehouse. His legs dangled off the edge and there was a small cooler to his left. He stared out into the darkness seeing nothing but dead grass and an abandoned dirt road that stretched on for miles.

He heard a door open from behind him and he looked to see a large, scruffy man walk up towards him.

"Welcome back, Sven. You want one?" he gestured over to the open cooler next to him.

Sven shook his head.

"Suit yourself then." Kristoff said as he grabbed another beer can out of the cooler. He took a sip as Sven stood over him.

"So what'd you end up doing with the body?"

Sven stood still, not moving an inch with his arms crossed and his face blank and emotionless, "I buried her."

Kristoff chuckled, "Fitting I guess. Spent all her time up on the top floor of that hotel with her dear old husband it's fitting that she finally spend time six feet under."

"What happened to her husband anyway? Eugene or Flynn or whatever the hell his name was."

He shrugged, "I let him be. As far as I know there's nothing wrong with him. Besides he's probably suffering enough already."

"Which reminds me, I've been watching the news and as far as I know they haven't found her body yet."

"I would hope so. I mean you disposed of it like, what, two days ago?"

"Something like that."

Kristoff took another drink, "So what are they calling me?"

"What?"

"On the news. What are they calling me? I assume they have some sort of name for me."

"They don't, uh...they don't call you anything."

"You fucking kidding me?! I've killed a hell of a lot of people I _think _I warrant some kinda name that the public can call me."

"Technically sir you've only killed two people."

"Nuance. Besides they don't know about you so let's just pretend I did all of it, won't we?"

Sven shrugged, "Whatever makes you happy."

Kristoff laughed, "Hey remember when _I _killed that guy with the 'dragon'?"

Sven played along, "Yes."

"What did _I _end up doing to him again?"

"You forced his dragon to burn him to death. And then you killed it."

"It wasn't even a real dragon in the first place. Fucking thing couldn't fly at all."

Kristoff took another drink, "But he sure tasted pretty damn good. Now tell me, how did _I _kill that entire family of freaks?"

Sven sighed, "Well first you busted down the door."

"Uh huh."

"You pulled a gun on them and shot their daughter...Violet I think was her name, so that she couldn't make a forcefield."

"Yeah, how clever of me."

"Then you shot their son, I think his name was Dash or something, in the legs so he couldn't escape."

"Mmhmm, what about their bitch Mom?"

"Well she used her elasticity to try and grab for you but you pulled out your knife and cut off her arms and then you also shot her before she could do anything else."

"Wonderful, that leaves only the father and the baby!"

"Well the father just decided to use brute strength against you but you grabbed the baby in time as a hostage. But you didn't know the extent of the baby's powers and he turned into this monster. And that's how you got your scar."

Kristoff chuckled as he touched his face, "Yes...my 'scar'. Anyway, then what did I do?"

"You did the only thing you could. You shot the little bastard right between the eyes. The father was devastated."

"Yes he was. God just seeing the look on his face. Priceless..."

"Yes well he dropped down on his knees and he looked up at you just incredibly defeated and shocked and you put the gun up to his head."

"And then I just unloaded the sucker right?"

"No, you didn't. Even better actually, you decided against it and just stabbed your knife straight through to the other side of his head."

"Oh yes! Incredibly brutal and also incredibly satisfying!"

Kristoff drank the rest of his beer and threw it off the roof. He picked himself up and stood up next to Sven, "What an excellent story."

"Yes...yes it was."

Kristoff patted Sven on the shoulder, "Now come on let's get back inside to find out our next plan of attack."

Sven nodded but decided to stare out into the darkness a little bit longer.

"Oh hey! Could you bring the cooler with you when you come back in?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**A/N: Alright before I start this chapter I'd just like to say it's good to be back. Vacation was great but it's nice to be writing again. Speaking of writing I've decided I hate my writing style as it is. It relies too heavily on dialogue and I don't feel like the story progresses as well as it should be because of this. Also this makes it so I am complete and utter shit at describing scenes and just describing stuff in general. So I'm gonna try that. Less dialogue, more...good stuff. See if that helps the story any better. I'm also trying to prewrite some of the main points of each chapter in order to make each chapter look like it flows better. I feel like I'm giving you guys all the rough draft of each chapter and they could all be so much better. So please please please _please _give feedback to each chapter so I can finally get better.**

Dr. Oaken's house was completely plastered in the color white. The walls were white, the kitchen appliances were white, the toilets and the showers were white although that should have been a given, even the couch that Elsa was sitting on was white. The only thing that wasn't white, as far as Elsa could tell, was his fireplace. The fireplace lay in the middle of his living room, surrounded by three white couches and an obviously white coffee table. The fireplace was made completely out of these rough red and black stones. The sizes varied but it was very apparent that it took many stones just to create this amazing fireplace. She could hear the silent crackling of the fire, but since the house was barely stirring it felt louder than it probably was.

The warm light illuminated Elsa, her legs were bunched up towards her chest and her face was distant, as if she was lost in deep thought. And she was. She thought back to all the things that had happened to her these past couple of weeks.

She first thought about Anna, which didn't come as a surprise to her at all. She had her on her mind pretty much the entire day ever since Dr. Oaken made that comment. She was alone now so I guess it wouldn't hurt to let her mind wander at the notion that he had brought up. Where _did _their relationship stand anyway? How did Anna really feel about her? How did she feel about Anna? She was her friend, that was easy enough to say. But there was a small part of her that felt like she felt more towards her best friend. Okay if she was _really _honest with herself, that part of her that felt this wasn't as small as she used to think it was. They had spent so much time together over the years and a lot more time together these past few weeks that there was no doubt that she felt something that didn't exactly feel like friendship towards Anna.

Elsa clutched her legs closer towards her chest and she frowned, she could feel it. She could feel herself beating around the bush. She knew exactly what this feeling was except she was too scared to admit it even to herself.

"Just say it..." she whispered quietly to herself. But she just couldn't. She couldn't say it. Not even in her own head. Especially not out loud. Instead she decided to change the subject.

She then thought about her parents. She had no idea how much and how hard they had worked with people just like her. She didn't even know there were people like her before a week ago. This all seemed like a giant awakening for her. Still one thing remained certain, she regretted not knowing how much her parents had actually been working. She regretted not appreciating all their hard work she didn't know about. And of course she regretted just never spending as much time with them as she should have. But that was the guilt talking and she knew it. Her parents were gone, that was a fact. It was the guilt talking that made her feel awful for not spending as much time with them as she wanted to but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do now was cherish the time she _did _spend with them, look back at all the good times she had with them and work towards the future they had wanted for her. It was the least Elsa could do.

The frown on her face was replaced with a slight smile as she thought back to when she was little. She remembered the days when she had first learned about her powers and how scared and frightened she was. She was afraid of touching her parents and tried to stray away from their touch but it was to no avail. No matter how much she protested they would always surround her in these warm, welcoming hugs and kept telling Elsa it was okay. That her powers were beautiful and that she shouldn't fear them. For the most part Elsa tried to believe them but it didn't stop her from isolating herself from the rest of her classmates. That is...until Anna came along. And she somehow had completely forgotten the fear that was associated with her power. Pretty soon she had forgotten she had ever had powers in the first place. That is, until six months ago. Still, Anna helped her immensely. Even before this all went down, even before her parent's untimely death, Anna had helped her forget her powers and make her feel well...normal. But now they were back and Elsa needed her to make her feel normal once again. She was glad Anna was by her side through all this.

Elsa shook her head, her mind was trailing back towards Anna again and she didn't want any of that. She looked down at her gloved hands and she thought about the powers she had been cursed with. No matter what anyone said to her these powers were no gift. They were a burden and caused her nothing but suffering. She hated that monster inside of her with an intense fury. Just when she was at the second lowest point in her life she had to make another appearance and make things even worse. Still, there was something intriguing about the idea of controlling them. She had made very minimal progress in her training but maybe this newfound motivation that she had would help her. This desperation to prove to herself most of all that she wasn't weak; that she was strong, strong enough to fight this. And most importantly she needed to be strong enough to fight Kristoff.

Her fists clenched at the mere utterance of that name.

_Kristoff._

That bastard. Why was he doing this?! Why target these people that were different just like her?! What was his plan?! Was it revenge? Did he have some sort of ulterior motive? Was he just insane? Whatever it was , Elsa knew that she needed to get stronger. If he was able to kill all these people with such ease and never get caught then he was someone that Elsa shouldn't take lightly. She didn't know when he would come for her but when he did, Elsa would be ready. She would make damn sure of that. She needed to stop him before he hurt anyone else. Anyone she cared about. Like Anna.

"Anna..." she found herself saying.

She needed to protect her. She needed to be as strong as Anna said she was. She would make sure no one would hurt Anna because she lo...she lov...lov...dammit why couldn't she say it?! Not even in her own head could she truly admit what she felt for her best friend!

Elsa groaned and leaned her head back on the armrest of the couch, "Just say it."

"Say what?"

Elsa was startled and sat correctly on the couch. She turned around to see who the voice belonged to and a part of her hoped that it was Anna. Maybe just by looking at her it would be a lot easier to say.

But it wasn't Anna. No the figure in front of her belonged to the towering presence of Dr. Oaken. He had ditched the lab coat finally and was now wearing this large dark green sweater that looked surprisingly snug on his large torso. There were discernible patterns on his sweater but Elsa could make out the image of a deer on the front. But she just chalked that up to her mind just randomly forming the picture of a deer. He held a mug full of tea in his right hand and he wore a tired smile as he looked down at Elsa.

Elsa looked away, embarrassed that she had said that out loud in the first place, "Nothing. Sorry I was just thinking out loud."

"What about?" Oaken asked as he made his way to the other side of the couch.

"Oh, just..." she didn't really know how to answer that, "...just some stuff."

He sat next to Elsa, "Anything in particular?"

"My, uh...my powers." she said quickly. Of course this wasn't exactly far from the truth but it wasn't what had dominated for the past...how long had she been sitting here anyway? It felt like hours.

"Ahh yes, they're fascinating aren't they?"

"Fascinating isn't exactly the right word I would use. No matter what anyone says, they're a curse and I hate them."

"Really now? So why have you been working so hard to control them?"

Elsa thought about this, "Well...I can't exactly go around leaving ice everywhere now can I?"

Oaken chuckled, "True. But couldn't you just wear those gloves around everywhere? And only take them off when you truly need to?"

"Well yes but-"

"So why are you working so hard then?" he interrupted.

"Because..." Elsa sighed, "Because I have to prove that I can. I have to prove that I'm stronger than this, just like my father said I was."

Oaken took a drink from his mug. He gently placed his large hand on Elsa's shoulder. She didn't move away, it felt warm and welcoming. "Well I guess that's the bet reason anyone could have now isn't it?"

Elsa smiled but the smile quickly faded, "But I'm not getting better fast enough. Kristoff is out there somewhere and I don't think I'll be strong enough when he finally comes for me. And I need to be strong enough because I have to protect-"

She stopped as she realized that almost everything she was thinking about seemed to be finally gushing out on her. She found Oaken to be incredibly trustworthy, fatherly even, and she felt she was able to really tell him anything.

He raised an eyebrow, "Protect...who?"

"Protect...Anna." she saw no point in not finishing her sentence.

Oaken smiled knowingly and raised an eyebrow, "I see."

Elsa blushed and shrugged his massive hand off her shoulder, "It's not like that!"

He raised his free hand up, "I never said anything. But it's incredibly apparent that Anna is someone very dear to you. It's no secret why you would want to protect her."

"Yeah but just the way you said that I thought you were implying..."

Oaken tried as hard as he could to put on a quizzical face, "Implying...?"

Elsa, of course, couldn't finish her sentence and decided to try and change the subject. She faked a cough and stammered out, "Ahem! So, uh...so why are you helping people like me anyway?"

Dr. Oaken could see that Elsa was trying to change the subject but played along anyway. He took another sip of his tea and leaned back onto the couch.

"There's not much of an interesting story there. As you already know I've been a long time friend of your parents, we were all outstanding scientists in our field and we stuck together through thick and thin. It wasn't a surprise to me when your father and mother finally got married. They were absolutely perfect for each other. Anyway we had all taken an interest in these reports showing up of people that were...well I guess you would say different. With various powers and the like. It was fascinating and we wanted to show these people they had nothing to fear. That they had someone looking out for them and those who could help them."

Elsa was very interested. She was learning more about her parents in Dr. Oaken's story. She propped her elbows up on her knees and placed her head in her hands, looking up at Dr. Oaken with complete focus and attention.

"Anyway we started small. The first person we approached was this boy a few years younger than you but with roughly the same powers as you had."

"I remember you telling me about him. Jack I think was his name."

"Yes. His full name was Jack Frost and he didn't want anything to do with us at first. I didn't blame him, we had no reason to protrude on his private business. It took a bit of explaining but he finally trusted us enough to go along with this plan we had to help him and others like him. So we helped him hone his powers, helped him use his staff much better and, as you could probably tell, it was a success. We still wanted to keep tabs on him so we asked if it was okay to make sure he was living a normal life even with his gift. He was so grateful for our help that he eagerly agreed."

Elsa tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "Really?"

"Yes! We were a bit surprised at this as well. Unfortunately your mother and father had to go on leave for about a year shortly afterwards, I think you can use your imagination as to why that would be. So it was left up to me during that time to continue looking for others with these special talents. It was rough, and my research went nowhere without your mother and father. There were many nights where I would barely sleep. But your parents soon got back to work and of course they brought you along with them."

"R-really?"

He smiled, "Of course. They knew they would be working long hours anyway and didn't want to burden a babysitter with that kind of workload. So they brought you here for the first few years of your life as we continued helping others with these hidden talents. That is, until a few days after your fourth birthday your parents came into my house with a mix of shock and surprise on their faces. They told me that you had caused ice to form all over your bed. That you had done it subconsciously but when you woke up you screamed. When they came into your room you were sitting on the floor with your, clutching your arms and you just had this look of fear on your face that no 4 year old should ever have."

Elsa tried to think back that far. She vaguely remembered waking up in the middle of the night and feeling very cold. She remembered looking around and noticing black ice all around the bed. She remembered falling off and seeing how far the ice had really spread. But that was all she remembered. The rest was just a blur.

"I...I kinda remember that."

"Yes well, after this revelation we made it our mission to research as much as we could on your gift. We spent years and years trying to find out what caused these powers to form. Of course we also kept our attention on those with gifts like you but you were our top priority. And that may sound like we were playing favorites but you were their child! Of course you took their top priority."

"This has been...eye-opening to say the least. But wait, how does Mr. Bjorgman fit into this whole story? You didn't mention him at all."

Dr. Oaken took another sip of his tea before continuing, "Ah yes. Mr. Bjorgman. He was, for the most part, our benefactor. Our sponsor. He provided us the funds to make this," he gestured back to the station where he did most of his research, "happen. Without him we probably wouldn't have gotten very far. He was very kind and very generous. He was incredibly interested in our cause and was very eager and willing to help. He was a good man."

A sad smile formed on Elsa's face, "He probably was. But then...why does his son hate us so much? Why is he targeting us?"

The calm demeanor of Dr. Oaken wore off and he looked down at his now empty mug with a stern face. He didn't answer.

Elsa tried once again, "Dr. Oaken..._why_ is he after us?"

He looked up and took a deep breath. He looked at Elsa and put that warm smile back on once again, but it felt forced and insincere.

He patted Elsa's legs, "It's getting late. I think it's time for both of us to go to bed."

He got up off the couch and made his way up the stairs, "Are you not going to bed?"

Elsa turned around to look at him, "I, uh...I think I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

He eyed her confusingly, "Are you sure?"

She nodded and Dr. Oaken decided not to pry on the situation anymore. Instead he made his way back upstairs, leaving Elsa alone once again to stare into the fireplace.

"Coward." she muttered to herself. She couldn't bring herself to be in the same room as Anna right now. Not when her mind was going crazy thinking about the redhead. She couldn't confront her. At least not tonight. Tomorrow was another day she told herself. She gently lay down on the couch and closed her eyes, listening to the soothing sounds of the crackling fire in order to help her go to sleep.

Tomorrow was another day.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: I'd just like to take the time to say thank you for this overwhelming (at least it is for me) support. Once again, please review. Your words mean a lot to me and I take them to heart. Oh wow, that sounds incredibly cheesy and ugh it feels kinda weird. Anyway enjoy the new chapter.**

**Also A Snowflake In Spring updated yesterday which is fucking great. Everyone go read it and don't give Cel a hard time (pfft yeah, like my opinion holds any weight).**

Soon it was morning and the sun's rays had made their way through the curtains of Dr. Oaken's curtains and landing on the sleeping figure of Elsa. The sun's rays had also conditioned themselves onto Elsa's face and it was this blinding light that finally caused Elsa to wake up. Her face scrunched up and she slowly opened her eyes. But when she opened them fully she noticed that she was staring into two deep pools of green, belonging to the face of a redhead with the most adorable freckles and carefully braided pigtails that rested on each shoulder. The redhead had her elbows propped up on the couch and rested her head in her hands.

Elsa assumed that once she had woken up those green eyes would stop staring at her but they didn't. In fact they didn't look like they were staring at Elsa at all. It felt like they were staring _past _Elsa, or at least they were staring at Elsa as a whole instead of just her face in general. If that made any sense.

Elsa was frozen under her best friend's gaze and she didn't know what to do exactly. Still tired, she finally spoke up, "Anna? You okay?"

Those same green eyes that looked distant and distracted finally snapped back to attention and Anna shook her head in order to focus once again. She stared down at her best friend who had propped herself up on one elbow in order to get a better look at Anna.

"Elsa! I'm...I'm not entirely sure what came over me I just- I saw you sleeping on the couch and I was _going to _wake you up but you looked so damn peaceful when you were sleeping that I just didn't want to disturb you."

She rubbed her head with the arm she wasn't using to prop herself up with, "How long have you been standing there exactly?"

Anna's face was visibly flushed with embarrassment and she pinched the fabric of the shirt she was wearing nervously. She obviously could not look Elsa in the eye either and rambled out "That's...that's not important, is it? Anyway I should probably go get something to eat. I wonder what Dr. Oaken has in his fridge. I hope he has some sort of chocolate I haven't had some in awhile and-"

"Anna, wait!" Elsa said as she quickly turned herself around and grabbed one of Anna's wrists. She turned around in shock but not in fear and looked down at the hand clutching at her wrist. She noticed that Elsa was missing her glove.

Elsa took a deep breath, "I'm glad you're here actually. There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Please...sit down."

She fixed her position so that she was sitting instead of lying down, her hands on her lap, and Anna cautiously sat down next to her, the blush still incredibly apparent. "What is it Elsa?" she asked without looking at her in the eye.

Elsa waited for Anna to look her in the eye but after a bit of time she gave up, "I was wondering..." this was going to be hard to word right, "I was wondering what you thought about what Dr. Oaken said the other day."

Anna finally _did _look her in the eye after that question, her cheeks still slightly red and her face set with genuine confusion, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean...that is what I'm trying to say is..." god this was hard, "I just..."

Anna titled her head, which Elsa found adorable, and looked at Elsa. Just waiting for a straight answer out of her.

Elsa let out a big sigh and recollected herself. _Just say it_, she thought to herself, _let's just get this out of the way so things won't be so awkward between us. _"I was wondering what you thought of him calling us a couple."

Anna straightened up and blinked rapidly, "Uh, umm...I'm sorry what?"

"I was just...wondering what you thought about that." Elsa responded as a nervous grin formed.

Anna let out a cough that was obviously fake and continued stammering out words, "Well I mean I just, uh...I just saw it as some sort of m-misunderstanding on his part and I mean I could totally see why he would...wait no! I _can't _see why he would say that I mean because, you know we're uh..."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, "We're...?" As much as it pained her to not get a straight answer out of Anna she had to admit she was enjoying this a little. She always loved how flustered her best friend got when confronted with an awkward situation. It was cute and she couldn't help but smile a little. Even still, she really _did _want Anna to finish her sentence. Where did she see their relationship at now?

"We're- that is, me and you are...umm...oh wow I'm pretty hungry actually, I'm gonna see what Oaken has in his fridge do you want anything?"

Anna got up off the couch in a panic but Elsa quickly grabbed her wrist to keep her from going far. She got up with Anna this time instead of asking her to sit down and the hand moved from her wrist further up her arm. Anna looked down at the hand and then back up at Elsa once again with that look of shock but not fear. She didn't pull her arm away.

_She's so close_, Elsa thought. _If she won't say it then I guess I will. _"Anna...I..." _Just say it! _Elsa leaned in closer to her friend and she still didn't move away from her. A blush formed on both their cheeks now. _Say it, dammit! _But she couldn't. Instead, she would show Anna how she really felt. She inched closer and closer to her best friend, staring at her lips which seemed so inviting and lovely and...

"Elsa where's your glove?"

Elsa snapped out of her lustful trance and didn't respond right away. She closed her mouth which had been open slightly, readying itself for what would have happened had Elsa not stopped. She looked into Anna's eyes but they were focused on her arm instead so she looked down there as well. She was right, her glove was gone. It must have fallen off while she was sleeping. But then...how was she not freezing Anna's arm?

Anna looked up finally and was beaming at her best friend, "Elsa this is amazing! You've been holding on to my arm for so long and it didn't feel cold or anything. There's no ice on it!"

She pulled her arm out of Elsa's and studied it. Elsa frowned a little at the loss of touch but soon got over it. She looked on silently and brought her hands close to her chest.

"This is great news, Elsa! I bet Dr. Oaken would love to hear this." She grabbed onto Elsa's arms, "Come on we have to go find him and tell him!"

Elsa was surprised at this sudden gesture and looked at Anna's hands on her arms. Anna immediately let go and stepped back, finally remembering the situation they were in mere moments ago. She looked down, slightly embarrassed.

Before anything else could be said they heard a key slide into the front door and open. Dr. Oaken stepped through the door with a plastic bag and closed it behind him, "Oh good! You're finally awake."

The girls looked at him wondering the same thing. "Dr. Oaken, where did you go?" asked Elsa.

He lifted the bag up, "Shopping! I had to get a couple things. I told Anna to tell you this when you finally woke up."

Elsa stared at Anna who was rubbing her neck and had a very sheepish and apologetic grin on her face, "Whoops! Did I, uh...did I forget to tell you that?"

She pouted but it was incredibly understandable as to why she forgot to tell her. After all the first thing Elsa did after she woke up was grab her arm and confront Anna about things she probably didn't want to talk about. And then there was that part where she...almost...kissed her...

Elsa tried to shake that thought out of her head and looked at Oaken once again, "So, uh...what did you buy?"

He ruffled through the bag, "Well see before I went to bed I got to thinking. Chances are Kristoff knows exactly what you look like and so we need to remedy that situation."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"We have to make sure that he won't be able to identify you when you're out in public. Ah, here we go!"

He pulled out a box and threw it towards Elsa. She was shocked, "Dr. Oaken, this is hair dye. Why would...oh please no."

Dr. Oaken pulled out a pair of scissors from the bag as well, "I'm sorry Elsa but it has to be done."

Kristoff shuffled through any and all of the files he had. Hoping to find something, anything, about Elsa but to no avail. All he could really gather was her name, what she looked like and where she lived (which was practically useless now).

He pounded on the table he was hunched over, the papers lifted up slightly below him, "Dammit! I can't find anything more on her!"

He paced around in the one room that technically lay separate from the warehouse itself, but was still connected to. It was dimly lit and the inside was dirty and worn down. It was completely empty when he found it but he was able to move a small fridge, a couple desks, a computer and a bed in here. He had made this his home for quite some time now as he organized each plan of attack. Every single piece of information he had on his targets was stored on the computer he brought in here except for Elsa. She was a special case. This data hadn't technically been passed down to him from his father but once he made it his personal mission to rid the world of these freaks he tried his damnedest to get as much information that his father had gathered. It was enough for everyone but this last mysterious girl.

He grabbed the only image he had of her, a picture of her face which all of the other victims had as some sort of profile picture of sorts and propped it up on the wall. In one swift motion he pulled his kinfe out and stabbed the image right between the eyes forcefully. The picture stayed perfectly still, being propped up by the kinfe.

Kristoff paced back and forth around the room. Visibly infuriated and seething with anger and frustration as he spoke to himself.

"Why the fuck are you so hard to find?! What is it about you specifically?! Why are you so special?! No no, you're not special. You're a freak, that's what you are. A fucking freak just like the rest of them! And I will find you..."

He walked up to the picture and slammed his fist down next to it, "You hear me?! I will find you, you bitch!"

He pulled the knife out of the picture and lay down on the bed, arms crossed behind his head as he stared up at the dim ceiling. The picture fluttered down onto the floor.

"I will find you..." he muttered to himself before closing his eyes. He needed to calm himself down, he needed to distract himself for a bit. So he thought back. Back to why he was doing all of this in the first place. Back to the day his father died.


End file.
